What if? The fail fic of the Adventures in KotOR
by yuuka-hanamaya
Summary: The title is not degrading itself, it's literally part of the title. A story about my version of what would happen if I were to wake up in the world of KotOR. Rated T for, "Tell me what you think"! ;D Genre 3:Fantasy [Something is wrong with the second chapter, story currently on hiatus]
1. Waking up

**Short authors note:**

**Hello, Fanfiction. This is one of the many series written with the character Tessa that I have made, this one not involving her partner in crime (and sometimes lover) Jamie. Some other worlds Tessa has been teleported into are Dragon Age and Supernatural.  
>I hope you enjoy reading this. It was my first What if? fic I ever made.<strong>

* * *

><p>Pain hit me so hard I thought I would puke. Tears burned at my eyes and only added to the mind-boggling confusion I felt, followed very shortly by horrific fear.<p>

I wasn't home. There was no fan going off in my room like there normally was. There was no soft light emitting faintly to my right from my younger sister's window drapes. There was no warm atmosphere that my home in Colorado had. No. I wasn't home. I could feel the difference in the air, and not just from the slight chill I was given by the cold room I was in. It was a difference in the fact you could feel darkness rolling off of the people living in the vicinity.

The familiar smell of home didn't reach my senses, but the disgusting stench of death and decay filled my nostrils. I struggled to keep my face neutral at the smell, the distraction almost steering me away from the pain in my skull. Thoughts ran to my head in an organized order, just as I had been trained to do. Be calm. But being calm didn't stop the horrifying fear from painfully running up my spine. More tears welled up, and not from pain.

_Well,_ I thought. _I'm obviously not home. I wasn't woken up last night in my sleep, so I can only assume I had been drugged to be moved to wherever I am now. The question is... Where exactly is, "Here"? Dare I open my eyes? If I open them, my capturers might know I'm awake. They probably already know by now anyway, but it's worth a shot to be stealthy. _I felt myself suddenly feel very tired. _Just who _are_ my capturers? _I gulped what felt like a rock down my throat. _Could war have finally..? But then.. Where is my family?_

I listened for any sign of life. I didn't hear what I expected to: Voices muffled by masks speaking in a foreign language. I heard faint buzzes of what sounded kind of like a motorcycle or an automobile, only... lighter, kind of. It sounded sort of like something you'd hear in a _Back to the Future_ movie, or maybe _The Fifth Element_.

Now, what in tarnation would make _THAT_ noise?

I listened further. Muffled voices came from what sounded like behind a wall or door.

"You intend to just let her stay here?" Asked a crispy feminine voice, sounding a little beyond irritated. I was immediately enthralled with it. It sounded particularly familiar, though I wasn't quite sure where it was from.

"We can't just leave her out in the streets, Zaerdra. Who _knows_ what those Vulkers will do to her." Replied a deeper voice, full of the authority that a father would have.

I now froze completely, breathing and all. Both voices sounded familiar, yes. But that wasn't what I was stunned spitless about. Did he just say Vulkers? I tried to piece everything together.

I already knew the conclusion. I just didn't believe it.

_This is some kind of joke. _I told myself. _I couldn't _actually _be ... No. I should get some more information before I jump to silly conclusions._

My musing's were interrupted by the woman named Zaerdra. "You should have just left her to die in the streets like everyone else." She said, voice holding no real emotion. A shiver ran down my spine at this woman's cruelty. I didn't deserve to live any more than any other person, but I couldn't help but feel the want to live. To survive.

"And be like the Vulkers, Zaerdra?" The man's scowl was evident in his voice. "I will _never_ let us fall to that."

Even if it was only to not be like these 'Vulkars', I was grateful the man spared me.

At that moment I decided to ignore the rest of the conversation and finally open my eyes. If what I thought was true, then I was going to have alot to do. _It's just a dream. _I assured myself. _Sure does feel real, though. _

I opened my eyes and was met with a cement ceiling. _Yup. Definitely a dream. No way I'd have fallen asleep on my back._

All fear vaporized, instantly replaced by curiosity and a hunger for adventure and knowledge. I forced myself to sit up, trying to ignore the pain jabbing my skull and leaving me a headache.

The scene in front of me was partly what I was expecting. A counter that could serve as a shelf containing medical supplies and a few parts for what looked like a droid, a footlocker hugging the wall to my right, and a door to my left that definitely didn't look like it belonged on earth. A chair hugged the wall directly next to the door, accompanied by a small end table with a cup on it containing some type of liquid.

I nodded. "I'm definitely dreaming."

I looked around once more before I felt a familiar tug lifting corners of my mouth. "Might as well ride with it. Dreams like this don't last long, anyways. May as well savour it while it lasts." I stood up with a little bit of struggle, my leg's being a bit wobbily. My eyebrows drew together in a cautious, disapproving glare. _Now that's not normal. Usually I have all the strength I need to carry myself from place to place in dreams._

I decided to ignore the minor setback and see if I could get anything from that footlocker.

"Erm..." I stared at the white container, confused. I placed a hand on my head and ruffled my hair a little bit. "I, uh.. I guess I never really knew how to open one of these thing's." I said to no one but myself. It was then that I felt the crusted liquid my fingertips skimmed over. A bit alarmed, I drew my hand back in front of my face to see what it was. There was no liquid, just a faint imprint of red. I gasped and recoiled my hand back to my head. "Blood?" I asked myself in a coarse whisper.

Realization dawned on me cruelly as I knew this wasn't a dream. I would probably never see my parents again, I would probably never see my little sister again, and I would probably never see any of my loved ones again. Heck, I'd probably never see Earth's dirt again.

I sat down in front of the Footlocker, eyes wide, not really grasping the situation fully yet. _If I'm in a Star Wars universe, and if I'm on Taris... _I broke off, a million thoughts coming to my head at once. Joy, excitement, lament, and depression all came bursting through to me. _This is so cool! I'm.. I'm.. I'm living my DREAM! I've always wanted to be in a Star Wars universe! Maybe.. Do you think.. Do you think I could become a Jedi? This is so cool!_

My face contorted into an unbelievably sorrowful expression after the excited thoughts. _I... I don't know how to get home. I.. I'll never see my family again.. _I could feel a massive headache overlapping the one I had recieved earlier. Tears stung my eyes before flowing freely as I accepted the truth. I choked down sobs and tried to stifle the sound of my crying.

I looked up at the footlocker and did what I always did when enormous amounts of emotional pain stabbed at my heart. I pushed away every thought of the cause and focused on something else.

Wiping away my tears, I was about to try and figure out the white cube when another realization dawned on me. _Malak is going to destroy Taris! And I'm ON Taris! Crap. CRAP._

I got into a firm sitting position and prepared myself for a panic attack that never came. My face rose up into determination. _I have GOT to find Revan. That's my only chance off this backwater planet._

I took a moment to wonder to myself. _I wonder what Revan is actually like... I mean, it's not as if I'm the one playing the character now. This isn't a game anymore, and I'm not the former Sith Lord. Is Revan going to be a male or female? I mean, male Revan was canonical, but.. Bah. What am I sitting around wondering for when I could be finding out for real?_

My face again rose up into a smile, my former tears and sorrow long forgotton. I covered my smile with my hands, trying to suppress a giggle. _I'll bet I find Carth, too. _This time I couldn't help a giggle. I let my hands slide down into my lap and I shook my head, mentally slapping myself but still holding a smile. _C'mon, Tessa. You're acting like a five-year-old fangirl. I bet he's much older-looking in person. I mean, what is he? Like, my dad's age? _A grin penetrated my attempts at a neutral face. _Although, I did always say I was going to marry Ewan Mcgregor. And he's even older than Carth or my dad. Heh! _I looked around and listened for the people outside my door. My eyebrows once again drew together, a serious expression taking place. _Time to get down to business._

I looked down at the footlocker that I had yet to open. "Well, I should be able to just press this blue button right here and it should open." I mused. Doing so, I congratulated myself when the lid flew up, revealing some supplies and a few other thing's. My eyebrows shot up as I saw a padded uniform-type outfit.

I held it up in front of me, examining it. "No way. This is exactly what I wore in the game. Defense bonus: Five." I set it down in my lap and looked at it as if it were something from a different planet. Hah, joke's on me. "There's no way that could actually work _now_, is there? I mean, a _real _blaster would just cut right through anything I'm wearing." I gulped, that statement really hitting me.

_This new universe is alot more deadly than the one back home. A bullet shot I can heal from, a blaster shot will go straight through me and probably leave me dead. I'll have to be extra careful._

I looked through the footlocker some more, finding a few metal capsules with what looked like a needle on the end. I raised an eyebrow. "Stimulants?" I asked.

I sighed, already knowing the consequences this galaxy would have. "I never needed them in the game, but I'll probably need them now. I _am _a non-force-sensitive human stuck on a foreign world, after all." Again, another shot to the gut.

_Facts are I probably _won't _end up being a Jedi. This really makes thing's alot harder._

I looked through the footlocker, specifically looking for something. A triumphant smile made it's way onto my face when I saw exactly what I was looking for: A bag. I quickly stuffed all the stimulants I could find into a pocket, hesitating when I looked at the light armor.

"I most likely won't be able to move as well in the armor, not to mention if blaster holes are just going to penetrate me anyways, what's the point? I'd rather be able to move than be some big stump of a target."

The wooshing sound of air unlocking something and the sound of metal rubbing against metal made me freeze.

"You see? She's a thief, Gadon!" Said the female voice. I bit back a sigh and prepared myself to face the unknown. I turned around, still crouched down, and looked into the faces of my capturers.

Apparently I must have looked like a dear caught in the headlights, because the Tw'ilek's face faltered for a second before returning to the hardened bodyguard expression.

_Great, _I thought. _Two second's in meeting the people and they already think I'm some helpless kid._

I stood up and raised my hands on both sides of my head, indicating I was of no threat.

"Hey, I'm not here to steal anything." I said, trying to keep my voice neutral. "But it'd be nice if I could get some information." I lowered my arms and walked slowly and cautiously towards the people, eyes on the blind man named Gadon.

He frowned. "Now hold on a second. We're the ones asking questions, here. You give us what we need and we'll just send you on your way."

I forced myself to nod in response, knowing only as an after-thought that he couldn't see it.

_Don't really know what information I'll be able to give, but go ahead and ask. Interrogate at will. _I stopped and made a face. _Great. I sound like Carth._

I suppressed a shake of the head and prepared to be bombarded with questions.

The partially-purple Tw'ilek shook her head, glaring at me. I took a moment to just look at her, hoping I didn't look like some confounded idiot. I mean, an alien? Not normal. At least not in my world. This was something I would have to try and get used to if I were to 'fit in'. I mean, as much as I'd probably fail, I figured it wouldn't hurt to try and be inconspicuous.

Her face looked that of a human, besides the abnormal coloring. But I thought the shades of purple and pale skin coloring only added to her natural beauty. Her lekku came down to her shoulders and ended at her chest, creating an elegant-looking atmosphere to her bodyguard exterior. Her skin looked much like that of a human, except softer. Her lekku had a glossy shine to them, the lights bouncing off of them freely. Her body looked like a regular woman would, clad in light armor full of weapons galore.

_What I wouldn't give to have a few of those on me. _I mused.

Gadon's voice broke my examination of the newfound wonder. "Do you have any idea what you were doing in the Lower City? Judging by your appearance you don't look to be from here, not to mention if you were you probably would have been able to handle yourself with those Vulkars."

I looked up at him, trying hard to keep my face void of emotion. Masks of monotone were _not_ my specialty.

_Good. It's just some regular questions. I knew I couldn't possibly hold any information of actual value. Besides that subject, he obviously doesn't think I'm _that _young. That or he's got some weird views on younger people.. _I thought back to his view on Mission and came to a conclusion. _Yep. Definitely weird. He thinks young people are capable. Er... Not that I'm an incapable young person._

Determined to back up that last thought, I opened my mouth to reply, but stopped when I realized I didn't have an explanation. I closed my mouth and looked at him helplessly. What could I possibly tell him? "Hey, I'm from an alternate dimension where you're just pixels on a screen!" That'd go down _real_ well.

As much as I didn't like lying to people I knew probably wouldn't harm me, I had no other choice. And honestly, I got the feeling I would be doing alot of lying in the near future. The best I could do was stick to answers that didn't give much away.

"I don't know what I was doing in the lower city, really. I don't even remember anything before I woke up here. I _do_ know that I'm not from here, though." I decided to ignore replying to his remark about me not being able to handle myself. "In fact, I was hoping _you _would be able to tell me a little bit about how I got here."

_There's _definitely _no underlying message _there. I sarcastically said in my mind. _Not like they'd know anyway._

Gadon nodded lightly and casually felt along the wall until his hand met the arm of the chair seated next to the end table. He seated himself and leaned back in his chair, looking directly through me. "The Hidden Bek guard at the front door saw you running from a couple of Vulkars, and as any good Bek would do, shot them down before they could cause anymore strife. Unfortunately, you were shocked with a Bothan stunner before the last Vulkar went down,"

I snorted and smiled while shaking my head. "That would do it," I muttered.

His dead-looking eyes lowered in a boredly condescending manner. "Yes, well, the guard brought you in here and we took you in, healing your injuries."

I raised an eyebrow, the sharp pain in my skull suddenly returning. "That doesn't explain how I got this," I said, pointing to the injury.

Gadon shrugged as if it didn't really matter. "You probably got knocked over the head at one point or another."

I mirrored his shrugging. "Guess it doesn't matter _now_, does it? Either way I still got a ghash on my head."

He let out a low humorless chuckle. "Guess so. Do you remember anything before that time?" He asked.

I lowered my eyes and looked him straight in his, even though he couldn't see mine. _Yep. Last night I was on the computer until four in the morning writing about Star Wars, a.k.a. your dimension. I listened to Bach last night, too. Love the Cello. I was also reading about Bao-Dur, a Tech that's probably somewhere talking with Ithorians right about now; setting up something for the new Telos Restoration. At least, it's new right _now_. In about four or five years it'll be one of the most common thing's ever, and won't have any _real_ success until a certain Jedi Exile shows up._

"I don't," I told him, contemplating just exactly what I should do. "I think that maybe some memories might come back if I just simply wait it out. Until anything comes back, I don't really have a place to go." I hinted. I could clearly see he knew what I was going to ask. "Do you think I could stay here for a little while?"

His brows furrowed, but he nodded. "Yes, you can stay here until your memories return. But until then, you can pay it off by working."

I understood where he was coming from, but that didn't mean I liked it. The thought of 'work' in general was enough to bring out my inner laziness and simply decline. But the thought of working alongside _Star Wars _people caught my interest.

"You can't be serious, Gadon! We can't trust her." Zaerdra spat.

Gadon threw her a disapproving glare. "Calm _down,_ Zaerdra. It's only for a little while. Besides, it's not like she's going to try something in my own base."

I would have given him a grateful smile, had it not been for the growing memorization he couldn't see me.

He stood up. "Our private Cantina is just down the hall if you're looking to unwind, and the refresher is right next door." He gestured - a little off-kilter - to a door next to the bed I had been sleeping on.

"The Kitchen is a few rooms away from the Cantina, and if you ask the cook I'm sure he'll be willing to feed you. When you're ready to begin your work, come see me. I'll be in the common area with Zaedra going over a few work issues."

I gave him my thanks, and with that, he was gone.

I sat cross-legged on my new bed and closed my eyes. _If I'm going to get off this planet before the Jawless Wonder bombs the place, I'm going to need a plan. Force knows Carth won't just let me join the crew, and I don't even know what Revan is going to be like. I _could_ see if I could go talk to Mission, but what good would that do me? I most likely wouldn't be able to forge a strong enough bond with her for me to tag along when she joins Revan. Zaalbar is out of the question. Canderous only joins with Revan because he needs the help. What good would an inexperienced kid do him? That leaves the only remaining crew member on this planet. _I opened my eyes.

_Bastila._

_/ / / / / /_

I don't think I could ever remember a time where I had so much fun simply taking a shower. The unknown complexities of the supposedly thought simple shower system was fun to play with, not really knowing what I was doing but deciding to have a go at it anyways. I ended up being knowledgable in the ways of the shower system and successfully cleaned myself. It took me a few moments to find where they stored their towels, and I was thankful they still used them instead of an automatic dry-cleaning system.

Clad in only a towel, realization took it's course as I looked down at the clothes I had been found in. I didn't have anything to change into. But worse than that, I only had one bra and one pair of underwear! I was going to have to find something else to wear soon. I didn't have much hope for a bra, seeing as how almost nowhere on Earth held my breast size. But hey, you never know. If I ended up traveling with Revan, there were quite a few planets to choose from for clothing variety. Then again, there were no clothing stores in the game. Just how closely would this timeline follow to the game at home? I guess I would find out.

I looked around and furrowed my eyebrows after making a conclusion. "Where's my shoes?"

I sighed. When I woke up I had no shoes, either. I wore the outfit I had fallen asleep in: My fishnet stocking's with my dark shorts that I wore all the time over them, my blue tank top, my black necklace with a cross hanging down from it that could probably serve as a choker, and a belt wrapped around the shorts. Around my wrists were many hair bands, all various colors.

Being in the cold, cement rooms of the Hidden Bek base, I suddenly wished I had been wearing something that covered me better.. Or at least have been allowed to bring a sweater. Although, if I knew I would be in an alternate universe at all, I probably would have packed up my family and planned to never come back to Earth.

I redressed myself in the clothes I had came in and returned to my new temporary room.

I sat down - shoeless - on my bed, cross-legged, and closed my eyes.

_Time to put my magical thinking skills to work. I need to figure out a plan off this rock, and quick. Bastila is probably the only one I'm going to be able to work with, and not just because she's the only one who will probably listen. She's a Jedi, and if she's anything like the person she was in the game, she should know what's going on enough to know I'm needed here._

I opened my eyes and looked to the side, as if someone were staring me down to pry open the truth. _Well, partially needed. _

I laid down - leg's bent towards the ceiling - and relished the feeling of relaxation. _I can help in the way of knowing how everything plays out. Lightside or Darkside, I know what happens. And maybe my knowledge is exactly the key to getting with the crew. _I couldn't help but let a small smile creep onto my face as I thought of the possibilities of new beginning's and ending's. I closed my eyes. _They're real people now. I wonder how much different they'll be.. But I'm getting ahead of myself. I still have yet to make a plan. _

I smirked at myself. _Gee, for someone on a planet scheduled to be blown up, I sure am calm. Probably because I don't entirely believe in this whole charade yet. _

I put my hands behind my head and began to do crunches. _Well, it's obvious if I want to get to Bastila in time, I'm going to have to do it before the Swoop Race. Which means I'm going to have to actually _find_ Bastila. A good place to start would probably asking some questions. I'm sure Gadon knows at least something. In the game he said, "..The only way to get your friend back is to win the swoop race.." But he never said anything about where she might be stored. If he does know something, I'll have to ask specifically. If he doesn't know anything, I'll ask around Javyar's cantina. If _that_ fails, I can always go for the direct approach. _I shook my head and frowned, still doing crunches. _I doubt I could take down the entire Vulkars base. But who say's I have to? I may only need to remove one bodyguard to get to the person I need to. If I manage to get past the guards blocking the entryway in the Lower City, then the room with the Green Tw'ilek is only a few steps away. If I can get to him and get him to talk to me without killing myself, he could possibly know something too. I don't plan on 'rescuing' Bastila. I'll leave that headache to Revan. I just need to simply talk to her. _

I laid down again, stomach muscles tired from my daily exercise. _I don't know if this'll work. But I know if I don't try, then I've lost the game anyway. _I snorted. How ironic that sentence was, now.

I got up and walked over to the footlocker. "Time to fix my excruciating shoe predicament."

I rummaged through the box, and found many shoes, but none my size. I huffed and stood up, deciding Gadon would probably know best.

I almost fell over in exasperation when I realized I didn't know how to open doors, either.

"Grrrr..." I grumbled. After a few moments of examination, I decided to just press a random button on the small console in the middle of the metal doorway. Much to my luck and appreciation, it opened.

"Note to self: Press that button again when you need doors to open for you in the future."

I triumphantly strode across the room, happy with my newfound knowledge on the complex system called 'doors'.

Upon my arrival, Zaerdra glared at me. I didn't return her glare, but instead smiled almost in pity. There was no use hating someone who was going to die in the near future.

I turned to Gadon, who looked like he knew of my presence. "Gadon, I was wondering if you had some shoes I could borrow. I looked through the footlocker in the room you gave me and found many, but none that fit. Can you help me with this?"

The older man looked like he was about to chuckle, but instead nodded in the general direction of his Tw'ilek bodyguard. "I'm sure Zaerdra can find someone to help you with that." He said.

I said a silent 'thank you' to him before following the purple-skinned wonder.

None too soon after we had turned a corner, she turned around to face me with a look deadlier than a starving vicious T'ukata on the loose.

"I don't trust you for anything," She spat, acid overflowing in her voice. "One wrong move and I have the clearance to shoot you dead. Understand?"

I nodded my compliance, deciding my voice probably wasn't what she would be looking for at the moment.

"I _dare_ you to make a wrong move. It'll be your last."

I looked up into her eyes. _As a protector, it's your job to make sure something bad doesn't happen, not ensue it. But of course I would never tell her that. She wouldn't take words like that from someone like me._

She pushed me in front of her, obviously not trusting me at her back. I sighed softly. _This relationship between us probably won't get better with time, will it? Not that we have a lot._

We finally made our way to the designated area, needless the Tw'ilek behind me practically had her blaster to my back during the trip. An Ithorian was hovering over some type of workbench, lost in his work.

"Aarrom!" Zaerdra cried. I jumped at her sudden outcry. _What, is he deaf or something?_

The Ithorian bobbed up and turned around, obviously startled. _"Zaerdra! You mustn't startle me like that!"_ The Ithorian named Aarrom stated.

The Tw'ilek beside me grinned. "Gotta keep those senses sharp, old man!"

I stared, flabberghasted, at the two aliens. _Forget your little reunion! I just understood what he said! _

I looked, shocked, from one foreign face to another, mouth ajar. Suddenly the Ithorians eyes flitted over to me, and made an expression to which I can only guess would be an eyebrow raise on a human.

"_Who is your companion?" _He asked.

Zaerdra's grin faded as she looked over at me with obvious disgust. "Just someone Gadon took in. She needs some shoes."

The Ithorian glanced at my shoeless feet before returning to look at Zaerdra. "_I see_." He waved me over to follow him. He looked through numerous footlockers in the room before finally coming to one he decided he liked. He opened it and picked out a pair of semi-tennis shoe hiking boots by the laces. He squinted at them before handing them to me.

I smiled my thanks and eagerly sat down on the cement floor. _These actually look really comfortable. And considering I'll probably be doing a lot of traveling, comfort is exactly what I'm looking for. _I stood up in them and grinned, ignoring Aarrom's plea's to sit me down in a chair. _They _are _comfortable!_

I looked up at him and my smile faded. "What do I owe you?" I asked.

He looked at me disbelievingly. _"Nothing. Any friend of Gadon's is a friend of mine."_

It was now my turn to stare at him disbelievingly. "Really? Thank you!"

_I've always liked Ithorians._ I thought fondly.

I turned back to Zaerdra. "Can we go back now? I'm officially ready to start proving my worth."

She rolled her eyes and motioned to follow her back, obviously thinking I didn't know the way. And let's be honest, any sane person would. But I did know. But no one_ else _knew that, of course. Although, her letting me be behind her was an improvement from a few minutes ago.

When we got back, Gadon directed his bodyguard - and my new tour guide - to show me the way to the swoop engine mechanics. Zaerdra, of course, threw a fit about it, but in the end obliged.

A low-patience but friendly green Tw'ilek named Boc showed me how to work a Swoop bike. Not that I would be using one anytime in the near future, but whatever. It was still pretty cool. He then showed me how to make the brakes on a Swoop, then allowed me to attempt to make one myself. I wasn't quite sure what I would need to make Swoop Brakes for, but I did so anyway. In the end he chuckled and thanked me, putting my work in a 'parts' bin for some people to pick up later.

After Boc told me I was free to leave, I headed back to where I thought Gadon might be. I wasn't exactly sure what I had really done to prove I was trustworthy, but I thought I'd just ride with it.

When I got into the common room my heart almost stopped. There stood a blue Tw'ilek, alongside her a Wookiee. Both were casually talking to Gadon.

"Yeah," Mission said, voice dropping an octave at the end of the word. "We ran into some people I'd never seen before in the Cantina. They'll probably come here later. Said they were lookin' for a friend." She glanced up at Zaalbar before leaning in to whisper to Gadon. "Big Z here didn't get to finish his food, and you know how he get's when he doesn't get fed properly. Do you think we could sneak in the kitchen and get us some grub?"

Gadon chuckled. "Sure. Go on ahead and get whatever you need to. We wouldn't want an angry Wookiee, now would we?"

I swore I heard Zaalbar grumble something about 'Mission's fault'.

_Guess that means I can understand Wookiee's too? Yay to the multi-lingual me! I can't help but feel something's off, though. Other people take years to learn language's I already magically know. And I'm not even from here!_

Mission and Zaalbar left to go to the kitchen, not even noticing me. And if they did, they showed no sign of it. I couldn't help but stare after them a bit longingly. I mean, I already knew them both. They just didn't know me.

I suddenly felt very alone.

Once they were completely out of my sight, I swallowed the loneliness and trodded up to Gadon.

"Boc said I've finished my work. Is there anything else you need me to do?" I asked.

He looked in the direction of my voice and stared through me. "Nothing that I can think of. We never really needed your help, anyway. But we needed something to pay off your debt, now didn't we?"

I suddenly felt very leery of the man I was beginning to respect. "Er... I.. guess so." I replied.

"Say.. How well can you use a blaster?" He asked. I didn't like where this was going. Not the blaster part, of course. I was fine with that. But what he might be suggesting I do for him was what was starting to worry me. I put my thumbs in my pockets and leaned a little heavier on my right hip. "Well, I don't mean to brag, but I'm pretty dang good." A partial truth. I've never shot a blaster before, but I've shot various types of guns. And yeah, I _am _a pretty dang good shot.

He looked pleased with his new discovery. "Good." He drawled out the 'oo' part, making me stifle a creeped-out expression. _He_ may not be able to view it, but I'm sure Zaerdra would have something to say about it.

"You see, a few day's ago-" He was cut short by a certain Blue Tw'ilek waving to Zaerdra. "We're headed down to the Undercity, Gadon. See you later!" She said enthusiastically. I smiled at her knowingly, trying to focus on her happiness and ignore the fact that Zaalbar would be captured very soon. She looked at me oddly before turning around to face Zaalbar, following him outside the Bek Base. _Yeah, I imagine it'd be a little odd for her. Second person she's seen today that she doesn't know. _

I turned back to Gadon. "Like I was saying, a few day's ago The Vulkars stole from us an important artifact - A prototype accelerator."

I resisted a face palm. _Don't you _even_ tell me he's going to ask a _kid_ to go get it for him?_

"This Accelerator aids a Swoop Engine. A bike with the Accelerator can best any other bike out there! The Vulkars are planning to use it to win this year's Swoop Race." He said, practically glowing with pride for the mechanical object.

I shifted my feet and leaned on the other hip. "Okay, so? It's just a yearly Swoop Race. Is there something special about it this year?" I already knew good and well why Brejik wanted to win the race. Bastila, of course. I was just trying to stall long enough for Revan to get here. The sooner Revan got here, the lesser of a chance I would need to do this chore. But that also meant less time for me to get to Bastila.

Gadon's brow furrowed in annoyance. "Besides the fact we Bek's want to win? Yes. There's a Republic Officer named Bastila for the prize this year, And I'm willing to bet those Vulkars will stop at nothing to keep her."

I glanced over my shoulder to check if a certain former Sith Lord was walking in before sticking both my hands into my pockets. "What's so special about her?"

I obviously said something wrong, because Gadon looked at me like I was unbelievably stupid. "She's a Republic Officer!" He said, his voice matching his expression.

I nodded as if realization had dawned on me. "Ohh, yeah. Okay. I see now. Big money on the slavery market, right?"

He nodded. Zaerdra's expression turned cold and her stance took on caution. I almost smiled, because I knew that meant that behind me stood my possible future. I turned around and felt my heart speed up to a million miles an hour.

_It's female! _Was my first thought. There stood a woman with a semi-hardened expression, piercing crystal blue eyes, and milk chocolate brown hair that stood in a french braid that fell to her waist. She had a partial-muscular build that was covered by Scout's clothing. A stray strand of hair fell on her forehead. All in all, she was breathtaking. I examined her clothing further. Something was off...

"Are you Gadon?" She asked, after raising an eyebrow at me.

I looked beside her. This time I was sure my heart was going to shoot out of my chest. Lo and Behold, there stood Mr. Carth Onasi; Clad in Orange Jacket and all. Stress wrinkles outlined his face from past experiences, and wrinkles from many laughs and smiles were beginning to form from new ones. I could only smile involuntarily as my thought's lingered to how far along Revan and him might be in their relationship. _I mean, since she's female there's no stopping a relationship from forming. _I frowned sadly. _But if a relationship does form, he'll have to go through all that trauma when she leaves.._

By now pretty much everyone was giving me an odd stare, though still lazily entertwined with their own business. I looked around before my eyes locked with Carth's brown ones.

"Er... Right. Sorry." I stepped back to let Revan and Carth more easily speak with Gadon. I looked at his un-seeing eyes before glancing back to female Revan, to only return to him. "Visitors. Maybe you can tell me later...Although you won't have to." I whispered the last part. He raised an eyebrow at my mumbling's, but didn't say anything further.

I stood next to Zaerdra and listened to the all-too-familiar conversation. Nothing really caught my attention until Gadon said something along the lines of, "I lost my eyesight in a Swoop race awhile ago. I rely on these artificial replacements to see, now."

_Well._ I thought, astounded. _THAT'S certainly something I missed before. _I suddenly felt an itching guilt creep up on me. _All this time I've been neglecting showing him proper thanks because I thought he was blind. He probably thinks so little of me.._

I looked over at him, not missing his glance in my direction. He knew exactly what I had heard, and I knew right then that he didn't hold anything against me. _I bet it probably happens a lot.._

The guilt still stayed, though.

"So what do you say?" He asked. Revan glanced back at Carth as if to contemplate with him. He gave a curt nod and she turned back to Gadon. "Okay. Uniforms in exchange for the papers."

Gadon grinned smugly. "Excellent." He drawled the word out, with that weird voice of his. "Now, there _is_ one condition," He said, after they had exchanged the cumbersome equalities. I looked at him, eyebrows drawn. _I don't remember any condition's _before_ the Vulkars base.. This is new._

He looked at me, the same smug expression on his face, before turning back to Revan. "I want you to take someone with you."

Carth was well and ready to retort, but Revan stepped in before him. "_Besides_ Mission?" She asked, full of attitude.

Gadon nodded and gestured to me. "It'll be safer if we send someone with you."

Me and Zaerdra reacted at the same time; saying in unison: "WHAT?"


	2. Acquaintances And Cautions

**Short authors note:**

**Hello, Fanfiction. This is one of the many series written with the character Tessa that I have made, this one not involving her partner in crime (and sometimes lover) Jamie. Some other worlds Tessa has been teleported into are Dragon Age and Supernatural.  
>I hope you enjoy reading this. It was my first What if? fic I ever made.<strong>

* * *

><p>Pain hit me so hard I thought I would puke. Tears burned at my eyes and only added to the mind-boggling confusion I felt, followed very shortly by horrific fear.<p>

I wasn't home. There was no fan going off in my room like there normally was. There was no soft light emitting faintly to my right from my younger sister's window drapes. There was no warm atmosphere that my home in Colorado had. No. I wasn't home. I could feel the difference in the air, and not just from the slight chill I was given by the cold room I was in. It was a difference in the fact you could feel darkness rolling off of the people living in the vicinity.

The familiar smell of home didn't reach my senses, but the disgusting stench of death and decay filled my nostrils. I struggled to keep my face neutral at the smell, the distraction almost steering me away from the pain in my skull. Thoughts ran to my head in an organized order, just as I had been trained to do. Be calm. But being calm didn't stop the horrifying fear from painfully running up my spine. More tears welled up, and not from pain.

_Well,_ I thought. _I'm obviously not home. I wasn't woken up last night in my sleep, so I can only assume I had been drugged to be moved to wherever I am now. The question is... Where exactly is, "Here"? Dare I open my eyes? If I open them, my capturers might know I'm awake. They probably already know by now anyway, but it's worth a shot to be stealthy. _I felt myself suddenly feel very tired. _Just who _are_ my capturers? _I gulped what felt like a rock down my throat. _Could war have finally..? But then.. Where is my family?_

I listened for any sign of life. I didn't hear what I expected to: Voices muffled by masks speaking in a foreign language. I heard faint buzzes of what sounded kind of like a motorcycle or an automobile, only... lighter, kind of. It sounded sort of like something you'd hear in a _Back to the Future_ movie, or maybe _The Fifth Element_.

Now, what in tarnation would make _THAT_ noise?

I listened further. Muffled voices came from what sounded like behind a wall or door.

"You intend to just let her stay here?" Asked a crispy feminine voice, sounding a little beyond irritated. I was immediately enthralled with it. It sounded particularly familiar, though I wasn't quite sure where it was from.

"We can't just leave her out in the streets, Zaerdra. Who _knows_ what those Vulkers will do to her." Replied a deeper voice, full of the authority that a father would have.

I now froze completely, breathing and all. Both voices sounded familiar, yes. But that wasn't what I was stunned spitless about. Did he just say Vulkers? I tried to piece everything together.

I already knew the conclusion. I just didn't believe it.

_This is some kind of joke. _I told myself. _I couldn't _actually _be ... No. I should get some more information before I jump to silly conclusions._

My musing's were interrupted by the woman named Zaerdra. "You should have just left her to die in the streets like everyone else." She said, voice holding no real emotion. A shiver ran down my spine at this woman's cruelty. I didn't deserve to live any more than any other person, but I couldn't help but feel the want to live. To survive.

"And be like the Vulkers, Zaerdra?" The man's scowl was evident in his voice. "I will _never_ let us fall to that."

Even if it was only to not be like these 'Vulkars', I was grateful the man spared me.

At that moment I decided to ignore the rest of the conversation and finally open my eyes. If what I thought was true, then I was going to have alot to do. _It's just a dream. _I assured myself. _Sure does feel real, though. _

I opened my eyes and was met with a cement ceiling. _Yup. Definitely a dream. No way I'd have fallen asleep on my back._

All fear vaporized, instantly replaced by curiosity and a hunger for adventure and knowledge. I forced myself to sit up, trying to ignore the pain jabbing my skull and leaving me a headache.

The scene in front of me was partly what I was expecting. A counter that could serve as a shelf containing medical supplies and a few parts for what looked like a droid, a footlocker hugging the wall to my right, and a door to my left that definitely didn't look like it belonged on earth. A chair hugged the wall directly next to the door, accompanied by a small end table with a cup on it containing some type of liquid.

I nodded. "I'm definitely dreaming."

I looked around once more before I felt a familiar tug lifting corners of my mouth. "Might as well ride with it. Dreams like this don't last long, anyways. May as well savour it while it lasts." I stood up with a little bit of struggle, my leg's being a bit wobbily. My eyebrows drew together in a cautious, disapproving glare. _Now that's not normal. Usually I have all the strength I need to carry myself from place to place in dreams._

I decided to ignore the minor setback and see if I could get anything from that footlocker.

"Erm..." I stared at the white container, confused. I placed a hand on my head and ruffled my hair a little bit. "I, uh.. I guess I never really knew how to open one of these thing's." I said to no one but myself. It was then that I felt the crusted liquid my fingertips skimmed over. A bit alarmed, I drew my hand back in front of my face to see what it was. There was no liquid, just a faint imprint of red. I gasped and recoiled my hand back to my head. "Blood?" I asked myself in a coarse whisper.

Realization dawned on me cruelly as I knew this wasn't a dream. I would probably never see my parents again, I would probably never see my little sister again, and I would probably never see any of my loved ones again. Heck, I'd probably never see Earth's dirt again.

I sat down in front of the Footlocker, eyes wide, not really grasping the situation fully yet. _If I'm in a Star Wars universe, and if I'm on Taris... _I broke off, a million thoughts coming to my head at once. Joy, excitement, lament, and depression all came bursting through to me. _This is so cool! I'm.. I'm.. I'm living my DREAM! I've always wanted to be in a Star Wars universe! Maybe.. Do you think.. Do you think I could become a Jedi? This is so cool!_

My face contorted into an unbelievably sorrowful expression after the excited thoughts. _I... I don't know how to get home. I.. I'll never see my family again.. _I could feel a massive headache overlapping the one I had recieved earlier. Tears stung my eyes before flowing freely as I accepted the truth. I choked down sobs and tried to stifle the sound of my crying.

I looked up at the footlocker and did what I always did when enormous amounts of emotional pain stabbed at my heart. I pushed away every thought of the cause and focused on something else.

Wiping away my tears, I was about to try and figure out the white cube when another realization dawned on me. _Malak is going to destroy Taris! And I'm ON Taris! Crap. CRAP._

I got into a firm sitting position and prepared myself for a panic attack that never came. My face rose up into determination. _I have GOT to find Revan. That's my only chance off this backwater planet._

I took a moment to wonder to myself. _I wonder what Revan is actually like... I mean, it's not as if I'm the one playing the character now. This isn't a game anymore, and I'm not the former Sith Lord. Is Revan going to be a male or female? I mean, male Revan was canonical, but.. Bah. What am I sitting around wondering for when I could be finding out for real?_

My face again rose up into a smile, my former tears and sorrow long forgotton. I covered my smile with my hands, trying to suppress a giggle. _I'll bet I find Carth, too. _This time I couldn't help a giggle. I let my hands slide down into my lap and I shook my head, mentally slapping myself but still holding a smile. _C'mon, Tessa. You're acting like a five-year-old fangirl. I bet he's much older-looking in person. I mean, what is he? Like, my dad's age? _A grin penetrated my attempts at a neutral face. _Although, I did always say I was going to marry Ewan Mcgregor. And he's even older than Carth or my dad. Heh! _I looked around and listened for the people outside my door. My eyebrows once again drew together, a serious expression taking place. _Time to get down to business._

I looked down at the footlocker that I had yet to open. "Well, I should be able to just press this blue button right here and it should open." I mused. Doing so, I congratulated myself when the lid flew up, revealing some supplies and a few other thing's. My eyebrows shot up as I saw a padded uniform-type outfit.

I held it up in front of me, examining it. "No way. This is exactly what I wore in the game. Defense bonus: Five." I set it down in my lap and looked at it as if it were something from a different planet. Hah, joke's on me. "There's no way that could actually work _now_, is there? I mean, a _real _blaster would just cut right through anything I'm wearing." I gulped, that statement really hitting me.

_This new universe is alot more deadly than the one back home. A bullet shot I can heal from, a blaster shot will go straight through me and probably leave me dead. I'll have to be extra careful._

I looked through the footlocker some more, finding a few metal capsules with what looked like a needle on the end. I raised an eyebrow. "Stimulants?" I asked.

I sighed, already knowing the consequences this galaxy would have. "I never needed them in the game, but I'll probably need them now. I _am _a non-force-sensitive human stuck on a foreign world, after all." Again, another shot to the gut.

_Facts are I probably _won't _end up being a Jedi. This really makes thing's alot harder._

I looked through the footlocker, specifically looking for something. A triumphant smile made it's way onto my face when I saw exactly what I was looking for: A bag. I quickly stuffed all the stimulants I could find into a pocket, hesitating when I looked at the light armor.

"I most likely won't be able to move as well in the armor, not to mention if blaster holes are just going to penetrate me anyways, what's the point? I'd rather be able to move than be some big stump of a target."

The wooshing sound of air unlocking something and the sound of metal rubbing against metal made me freeze.

"You see? She's a thief, Gadon!" Said the female voice. I bit back a sigh and prepared myself to face the unknown. I turned around, still crouched down, and looked into the faces of my capturers.

Apparently I must have looked like a dear caught in the headlights, because the Tw'ilek's face faltered for a second before returning to the hardened bodyguard expression.

_Great, _I thought. _Two second's in meeting the people and they already think I'm some helpless kid._

I stood up and raised my hands on both sides of my head, indicating I was of no threat.

"Hey, I'm not here to steal anything." I said, trying to keep my voice neutral. "But it'd be nice if I could get some information." I lowered my arms and walked slowly and cautiously towards the people, eyes on the blind man named Gadon.

He frowned. "Now hold on a second. We're the ones asking questions, here. You give us what we need and we'll just send you on your way."

I forced myself to nod in response, knowing only as an after-thought that he couldn't see it.

_Don't really know what information I'll be able to give, but go ahead and ask. Interrogate at will. _I stopped and made a face. _Great. I sound like Carth._

I suppressed a shake of the head and prepared to be bombarded with questions.

The partially-purple Tw'ilek shook her head, glaring at me. I took a moment to just look at her, hoping I didn't look like some confounded idiot. I mean, an alien? Not normal. At least not in my world. This was something I would have to try and get used to if I were to 'fit in'. I mean, as much as I'd probably fail, I figured it wouldn't hurt to try and be inconspicuous.

Her face looked that of a human, besides the abnormal coloring. But I thought the shades of purple and pale skin coloring only added to her natural beauty. Her lekku came down to her shoulders and ended at her chest, creating an elegant-looking atmosphere to her bodyguard exterior. Her skin looked much like that of a human, except softer. Her lekku had a glossy shine to them, the lights bouncing off of them freely. Her body looked like a regular woman would, clad in light armor full of weapons galore.

_What I wouldn't give to have a few of those on me. _I mused.

Gadon's voice broke my examination of the newfound wonder. "Do you have any idea what you were doing in the Lower City? Judging by your appearance you don't look to be from here, not to mention if you were you probably would have been able to handle yourself with those Vulkars."

I looked up at him, trying hard to keep my face void of emotion. Masks of monotone were _not_ my specialty.

_Good. It's just some regular questions. I knew I couldn't possibly hold any information of actual value. Besides that subject, he obviously doesn't think I'm _that _young. That or he's got some weird views on younger people.. _I thought back to his view on Mission and came to a conclusion. _Yep. Definitely weird. He thinks young people are capable. Er... Not that I'm an incapable young person._

Determined to back up that last thought, I opened my mouth to reply, but stopped when I realized I didn't have an explanation. I closed my mouth and looked at him helplessly. What could I possibly tell him? "Hey, I'm from an alternate dimension where you're just pixels on a screen!" That'd go down _real_ well.

As much as I didn't like lying to people I knew probably wouldn't harm me, I had no other choice. And honestly, I got the feeling I would be doing alot of lying in the near future. The best I could do was stick to answers that didn't give much away.

"I don't know what I was doing in the lower city, really. I don't even remember anything before I woke up here. I _do_ know that I'm not from here, though." I decided to ignore replying to his remark about me not being able to handle myself. "In fact, I was hoping _you _would be able to tell me a little bit about how I got here."

_There's _definitely _no underlying message _there. I sarcastically said in my mind. _Not like they'd know anyway._

Gadon nodded lightly and casually felt along the wall until his hand met the arm of the chair seated next to the end table. He seated himself and leaned back in his chair, looking directly through me. "The Hidden Bek guard at the front door saw you running from a couple of Vulkars, and as any good Bek would do, shot them down before they could cause anymore strife. Unfortunately, you were shocked with a Bothan stunner before the last Vulkar went down,"

I snorted and smiled while shaking my head. "That would do it," I muttered.

His dead-looking eyes lowered in a boredly condescending manner. "Yes, well, the guard brought you in here and we took you in, healing your injuries."

I raised an eyebrow, the sharp pain in my skull suddenly returning. "That doesn't explain how I got this," I said, pointing to the injury.

Gadon shrugged as if it didn't really matter. "You probably got knocked over the head at one point or another."

I mirrored his shrugging. "Guess it doesn't matter _now_, does it? Either way I still got a ghash on my head."

He let out a low humorless chuckle. "Guess so. Do you remember anything before that time?" He asked.

I lowered my eyes and looked him straight in his, even though he couldn't see mine. _Yep. Last night I was on the computer until four in the morning writing about Star Wars, a.k.a. your dimension. I listened to Bach last night, too. Love the Cello. I was also reading about Bao-Dur, a Tech that's probably somewhere talking with Ithorians right about now; setting up something for the new Telos Restoration. At least, it's new right _now_. In about four or five years it'll be one of the most common thing's ever, and won't have any _real_ success until a certain Jedi Exile shows up._

"I don't," I told him, contemplating just exactly what I should do. "I think that maybe some memories might come back if I just simply wait it out. Until anything comes back, I don't really have a place to go." I hinted. I could clearly see he knew what I was going to ask. "Do you think I could stay here for a little while?"

His brows furrowed, but he nodded. "Yes, you can stay here until your memories return. But until then, you can pay it off by working."

I understood where he was coming from, but that didn't mean I liked it. The thought of 'work' in general was enough to bring out my inner laziness and simply decline. But the thought of working alongside _Star Wars _people caught my interest.

"You can't be serious, Gadon! We can't trust her." Zaerdra spat.

Gadon threw her a disapproving glare. "Calm _down,_ Zaerdra. It's only for a little while. Besides, it's not like she's going to try something in my own base."

I would have given him a grateful smile, had it not been for the growing memorization he couldn't see me.

He stood up. "Our private Cantina is just down the hall if you're looking to unwind, and the refresher is right next door." He gestured - a little off-kilter - to a door next to the bed I had been sleeping on.

"The Kitchen is a few rooms away from the Cantina, and if you ask the cook I'm sure he'll be willing to feed you. When you're ready to begin your work, come see me. I'll be in the common area with Zaedra going over a few work issues."

I gave him my thanks, and with that, he was gone.

I sat cross-legged on my new bed and closed my eyes. _If I'm going to get off this planet before the Jawless Wonder bombs the place, I'm going to need a plan. Force knows Carth won't just let me join the crew, and I don't even know what Revan is going to be like. I _could_ see if I could go talk to Mission, but what good would that do me? I most likely wouldn't be able to forge a strong enough bond with her for me to tag along when she joins Revan. Zaalbar is out of the question. Canderous only joins with Revan because he needs the help. What good would an inexperienced kid do him? That leaves the only remaining crew member on this planet. _I opened my eyes.

_Bastila._

_/ / / / / /_

I don't think I could ever remember a time where I had so much fun simply taking a shower. The unknown complexities of the supposedly thought simple shower system was fun to play with, not really knowing what I was doing but deciding to have a go at it anyways. I ended up being knowledgable in the ways of the shower system and successfully cleaned myself. It took me a few moments to find where they stored their towels, and I was thankful they still used them instead of an automatic dry-cleaning system.

Clad in only a towel, realization took it's course as I looked down at the clothes I had been found in. I didn't have anything to change into. But worse than that, I only had one bra and one pair of underwear! I was going to have to find something else to wear soon. I didn't have much hope for a bra, seeing as how almost nowhere on Earth held my breast size. But hey, you never know. If I ended up traveling with Revan, there were quite a few planets to choose from for clothing variety. Then again, there were no clothing stores in the game. Just how closely would this timeline follow to the game at home? I guess I would find out.

I looked around and furrowed my eyebrows after making a conclusion. "Where's my shoes?"

I sighed. When I woke up I had no shoes, either. I wore the outfit I had fallen asleep in: My fishnet stocking's with my dark shorts that I wore all the time over them, my blue tank top, my black necklace with a cross hanging down from it that could probably serve as a choker, and a belt wrapped around the shorts. Around my wrists were many hair bands, all various colors.

Being in the cold, cement rooms of the Hidden Bek base, I suddenly wished I had been wearing something that covered me better.. Or at least have been allowed to bring a sweater. Although, if I knew I would be in an alternate universe at all, I probably would have packed up my family and planned to never come back to Earth.

I redressed myself in the clothes I had came in and returned to my new temporary room.

I sat down - shoeless - on my bed, cross-legged, and closed my eyes.

_Time to put my magical thinking skills to work. I need to figure out a plan off this rock, and quick. Bastila is probably the only one I'm going to be able to work with, and not just because she's the only one who will probably listen. She's a Jedi, and if she's anything like the person she was in the game, she should know what's going on enough to know I'm needed here._

I opened my eyes and looked to the side, as if someone were staring me down to pry open the truth. _Well, partially needed. _

I laid down - leg's bent towards the ceiling - and relished the feeling of relaxation. _I can help in the way of knowing how everything plays out. Lightside or Darkside, I know what happens. And maybe my knowledge is exactly the key to getting with the crew. _I couldn't help but let a small smile creep onto my face as I thought of the possibilities of new beginning's and ending's. I closed my eyes. _They're real people now. I wonder how much different they'll be.. But I'm getting ahead of myself. I still have yet to make a plan. _

I smirked at myself. _Gee, for someone on a planet scheduled to be blown up, I sure am calm. Probably because I don't entirely believe in this whole charade yet. _

I put my hands behind my head and began to do crunches. _Well, it's obvious if I want to get to Bastila in time, I'm going to have to do it before the Swoop Race. Which means I'm going to have to actually _find_ Bastila. A good place to start would probably asking some questions. I'm sure Gadon knows at least something. In the game he said, "..The only way to get your friend back is to win the swoop race.." But he never said anything about where she might be stored. If he does know something, I'll have to ask specifically. If he doesn't know anything, I'll ask around Javyar's cantina. If _that_ fails, I can always go for the direct approach. _I shook my head and frowned, still doing crunches. _I doubt I could take down the entire Vulkars base. But who say's I have to? I may only need to remove one bodyguard to get to the person I need to. If I manage to get past the guards blocking the entryway in the Lower City, then the room with the Green Tw'ilek is only a few steps away. If I can get to him and get him to talk to me without killing myself, he could possibly know something too. I don't plan on 'rescuing' Bastila. I'll leave that headache to Revan. I just need to simply talk to her. _

I laid down again, stomach muscles tired from my daily exercise. _I don't know if this'll work. But I know if I don't try, then I've lost the game anyway. _I snorted. How ironic that sentence was, now.

I got up and walked over to the footlocker. "Time to fix my excruciating shoe predicament."

I rummaged through the box, and found many shoes, but none my size. I huffed and stood up, deciding Gadon would probably know best.

I almost fell over in exasperation when I realized I didn't know how to open doors, either.

"Grrrr..." I grumbled. After a few moments of examination, I decided to just press a random button on the small console in the middle of the metal doorway. Much to my luck and appreciation, it opened.

"Note to self: Press that button again when you need doors to open for you in the future."

I triumphantly strode across the room, happy with my newfound knowledge on the complex system called 'doors'.

Upon my arrival, Zaerdra glared at me. I didn't return her glare, but instead smiled almost in pity. There was no use hating someone who was going to die in the near future.

I turned to Gadon, who looked like he knew of my presence. "Gadon, I was wondering if you had some shoes I could borrow. I looked through the footlocker in the room you gave me and found many, but none that fit. Can you help me with this?"

The older man looked like he was about to chuckle, but instead nodded in the general direction of his Tw'ilek bodyguard. "I'm sure Zaerdra can find someone to help you with that." He said.

I said a silent 'thank you' to him before following the purple-skinned wonder.

None too soon after we had turned a corner, she turned around to face me with a look deadlier than a starving vicious T'ukata on the loose.

"I don't trust you for anything," She spat, acid overflowing in her voice. "One wrong move and I have the clearance to shoot you dead. Understand?"

I nodded my compliance, deciding my voice probably wasn't what she would be looking for at the moment.

"I _dare_ you to make a wrong move. It'll be your last."

I looked up into her eyes. _As a protector, it's your job to make sure something bad doesn't happen, not ensue it. But of course I would never tell her that. She wouldn't take words like that from someone like me._

She pushed me in front of her, obviously not trusting me at her back. I sighed softly. _This relationship between us probably won't get better with time, will it? Not that we have a lot._

We finally made our way to the designated area, needless the Tw'ilek behind me practically had her blaster to my back during the trip. An Ithorian was hovering over some type of workbench, lost in his work.

"Aarrom!" Zaerdra cried. I jumped at her sudden outcry. _What, is he deaf or something?_

The Ithorian bobbed up and turned around, obviously startled. _"Zaerdra! You mustn't startle me like that!"_ The Ithorian named Aarrom stated.

The Tw'ilek beside me grinned. "Gotta keep those senses sharp, old man!"

I stared, flabberghasted, at the two aliens. _Forget your little reunion! I just understood what he said! _

I looked, shocked, from one foreign face to another, mouth ajar. Suddenly the Ithorians eyes flitted over to me, and made an expression to which I can only guess would be an eyebrow raise on a human.

"_Who is your companion?" _He asked.

Zaerdra's grin faded as she looked over at me with obvious disgust. "Just someone Gadon took in. She needs some shoes."

The Ithorian glanced at my shoeless feet before returning to look at Zaerdra. "_I see_." He waved me over to follow him. He looked through numerous footlockers in the room before finally coming to one he decided he liked. He opened it and picked out a pair of semi-tennis shoe hiking boots by the laces. He squinted at them before handing them to me.

I smiled my thanks and eagerly sat down on the cement floor. _These actually look really comfortable. And considering I'll probably be doing a lot of traveling, comfort is exactly what I'm looking for. _I stood up in them and grinned, ignoring Aarrom's plea's to sit me down in a chair. _They _are _comfortable!_

I looked up at him and my smile faded. "What do I owe you?" I asked.

He looked at me disbelievingly. _"Nothing. Any friend of Gadon's is a friend of mine."_

It was now my turn to stare at him disbelievingly. "Really? Thank you!"

_I've always liked Ithorians._ I thought fondly.

I turned back to Zaerdra. "Can we go back now? I'm officially ready to start proving my worth."

She rolled her eyes and motioned to follow her back, obviously thinking I didn't know the way. And let's be honest, any sane person would. But I did know. But no one_ else _knew that, of course. Although, her letting me be behind her was an improvement from a few minutes ago.

When we got back, Gadon directed his bodyguard - and my new tour guide - to show me the way to the swoop engine mechanics. Zaerdra, of course, threw a fit about it, but in the end obliged.

A low-patience but friendly green Tw'ilek named Boc showed me how to work a Swoop bike. Not that I would be using one anytime in the near future, but whatever. It was still pretty cool. He then showed me how to make the brakes on a Swoop, then allowed me to attempt to make one myself. I wasn't quite sure what I would need to make Swoop Brakes for, but I did so anyway. In the end he chuckled and thanked me, putting my work in a 'parts' bin for some people to pick up later.

After Boc told me I was free to leave, I headed back to where I thought Gadon might be. I wasn't exactly sure what I had really done to prove I was trustworthy, but I thought I'd just ride with it.

When I got into the common room my heart almost stopped. There stood a blue Tw'ilek, alongside her a Wookiee. Both were casually talking to Gadon.

"Yeah," Mission said, voice dropping an octave at the end of the word. "We ran into some people I'd never seen before in the Cantina. They'll probably come here later. Said they were lookin' for a friend." She glanced up at Zaalbar before leaning in to whisper to Gadon. "Big Z here didn't get to finish his food, and you know how he get's when he doesn't get fed properly. Do you think we could sneak in the kitchen and get us some grub?"

Gadon chuckled. "Sure. Go on ahead and get whatever you need to. We wouldn't want an angry Wookiee, now would we?"

I swore I heard Zaalbar grumble something about 'Mission's fault'.

_Guess that means I can understand Wookiee's too? Yay to the multi-lingual me! I can't help but feel something's off, though. Other people take years to learn language's I already magically know. And I'm not even from here!_

Mission and Zaalbar left to go to the kitchen, not even noticing me. And if they did, they showed no sign of it. I couldn't help but stare after them a bit longingly. I mean, I already knew them both. They just didn't know me.

I suddenly felt very alone.

Once they were completely out of my sight, I swallowed the loneliness and trodded up to Gadon.

"Boc said I've finished my work. Is there anything else you need me to do?" I asked.

He looked in the direction of my voice and stared through me. "Nothing that I can think of. We never really needed your help, anyway. But we needed something to pay off your debt, now didn't we?"

I suddenly felt very leery of the man I was beginning to respect. "Er... I.. guess so." I replied.

"Say.. How well can you use a blaster?" He asked. I didn't like where this was going. Not the blaster part, of course. I was fine with that. But what he might be suggesting I do for him was what was starting to worry me. I put my thumbs in my pockets and leaned a little heavier on my right hip. "Well, I don't mean to brag, but I'm pretty dang good." A partial truth. I've never shot a blaster before, but I've shot various types of guns. And yeah, I _am _a pretty dang good shot.

He looked pleased with his new discovery. "Good." He drawled out the 'oo' part, making me stifle a creeped-out expression. _He_ may not be able to view it, but I'm sure Zaerdra would have something to say about it.

"You see, a few day's ago-" He was cut short by a certain Blue Tw'ilek waving to Zaerdra. "We're headed down to the Undercity, Gadon. See you later!" She said enthusiastically. I smiled at her knowingly, trying to focus on her happiness and ignore the fact that Zaalbar would be captured very soon. She looked at me oddly before turning around to face Zaalbar, following him outside the Bek Base. _Yeah, I imagine it'd be a little odd for her. Second person she's seen today that she doesn't know. _

I turned back to Gadon. "Like I was saying, a few day's ago The Vulkars stole from us an important artifact - A prototype accelerator."

I resisted a face palm. _Don't you _even_ tell me he's going to ask a _kid_ to go get it for him?_

"This Accelerator aids a Swoop Engine. A bike with the Accelerator can best any other bike out there! The Vulkars are planning to use it to win this year's Swoop Race." He said, practically glowing with pride for the mechanical object.

I shifted my feet and leaned on the other hip. "Okay, so? It's just a yearly Swoop Race. Is there something special about it this year?" I already knew good and well why Brejik wanted to win the race. Bastila, of course. I was just trying to stall long enough for Revan to get here. The sooner Revan got here, the lesser of a chance I would need to do this chore. But that also meant less time for me to get to Bastila.

Gadon's brow furrowed in annoyance. "Besides the fact we Bek's want to win? Yes. There's a Republic Officer named Bastila for the prize this year, And I'm willing to bet those Vulkars will stop at nothing to keep her."

I glanced over my shoulder to check if a certain former Sith Lord was walking in before sticking both my hands into my pockets. "What's so special about her?"

I obviously said something wrong, because Gadon looked at me like I was unbelievably stupid. "She's a Republic Officer!" He said, his voice matching his expression.

I nodded as if realization had dawned on me. "Ohh, yeah. Okay. I see now. Big money on the slavery market, right?"

He nodded. Zaerdra's expression turned cold and her stance took on caution. I almost smiled, because I knew that meant that behind me stood my possible future. I turned around and felt my heart speed up to a million miles an hour.

_It's female! _Was my first thought. There stood a woman with a semi-hardened expression, piercing crystal blue eyes, and milk chocolate brown hair that stood in a french braid that fell to her waist. She had a partial-muscular build that was covered by Scout's clothing. A stray strand of hair fell on her forehead. All in all, she was breathtaking. I examined her clothing further. Something was off...

"Are you Gadon?" She asked, after raising an eyebrow at me.

I looked beside her. This time I was sure my heart was going to shoot out of my chest. Lo and Behold, there stood Mr. Carth Onasi; Clad in Orange Jacket and all. Stress wrinkles outlined his face from past experiences, and wrinkles from many laughs and smiles were beginning to form from new ones. I could only smile involuntarily as my thought's lingered to how far along Revan and him might be in their relationship. _I mean, since she's female there's no stopping a relationship from forming. _I frowned sadly. _But if a relationship does form, he'll have to go through all that trauma when she leaves.._

By now pretty much everyone was giving me an odd stare, though still lazily entertwined with their own business. I looked around before my eyes locked with Carth's brown ones.

"Er... Right. Sorry." I stepped back to let Revan and Carth more easily speak with Gadon. I looked at his un-seeing eyes before glancing back to female Revan, to only return to him. "Visitors. Maybe you can tell me later...Although you won't have to." I whispered the last part. He raised an eyebrow at my mumbling's, but didn't say anything further.

I stood next to Zaerdra and listened to the all-too-familiar conversation. Nothing really caught my attention until Gadon said something along the lines of, "I lost my eyesight in a Swoop race awhile ago. I rely on these artificial replacements to see, now."

_Well._ I thought, astounded. _THAT'S certainly something I missed before. _I suddenly felt an itching guilt creep up on me. _All this time I've been neglecting showing him proper thanks because I thought he was blind. He probably thinks so little of me.._

I looked over at him, not missing his glance in my direction. He knew exactly what I had heard, and I knew right then that he didn't hold anything against me. _I bet it probably happens a lot.._

The guilt still stayed, though.

"So what do you say?" He asked. Revan glanced back at Carth as if to contemplate with him. He gave a curt nod and she turned back to Gadon. "Okay. Uniforms in exchange for the papers."

Gadon grinned smugly. "Excellent." He drawled the word out, with that weird voice of his. "Now, there _is_ one condition," He said, after they had exchanged the cumbersome equalities. I looked at him, eyebrows drawn. _I don't remember any condition's _before_ the Vulkars base.. This is new._

He looked at me, the same smug expression on his face, before turning back to Revan. "I want you to take someone with you."

Carth was well and ready to retort, but Revan stepped in before him. "_Besides_ Mission?" She asked, full of attitude.

Gadon nodded and gestured to me. "It'll be safer if we send someone with you."

Me and Zaerdra reacted at the same time; saying in unison: "WHAT?"


	3. Caring

Chapter 3: Caring

I heard footsteps walking dangerously close to me. My senses brought me back to reality, making me alert. My eyes snapped open and I looked around for the sound of the steps. A sideways, startled Mission jumped, before putting her hands on her hips. "Sheesh! You shouldn't scare a person like that!" She reprimanded. I began to regain feeling in my body, mind now fully awake. I sat up. "Sorry." I wiped all sleep from my eyes. _I must have dozed off. But waking up and seeing my surrounding's makes me realize just how real this actually is.. It really isn't a dream._

I stared at the blue Tw'ilek. Her lekku framed her face perfectly, creating an exotic atmosphere. Her enthusiastic and carefree expression made her all the more likeable. Her skin was so perfect it almost made me envious, had I not a respect and friendship love for her. Any good thing that came her way, I was happy for her benefit.

She crinkled a brow and looked at me oddly. "_What_?" She asked. I smiled and sat criss-crossed. "Nothing." I said. _Just admiring your beauty. _I finished in my mind. I looked around. It was still plenty dark, but there seemed to be a more eerie prescence than before. My smile faded and instead turned cautious. I scanned the area. No Rakghoul's lay in sight, and there seemed to be nothing out of the ordinary. I glanced behind me. Carth sat upright, looking alert.

..Until I heard him snore. I raised an eyebrow. "Fell asleep on the job?" I asked quietly, turning back to Mission. She nodded, arms crossed, and looked at the sight. "They both did." I looked at Revan's limp figure a few feet from me. "I got up to go to the bathroom and found'em like this." I smiled and looked at Revan's sleeping face. She lay on her back, one arm resting over her stomach, the other arm behind her head. Her mouth was set slightly agape, and her face looked relaxed. _I'm glad she isn't having any nightmares. Or rather, memories. _I frowned slightly. "She sure does look prettier without that scowl on her face, doesn't she?" I asked softly. It was meant to be a humorous comment, but it came out with a serious tone. Mission snickered. "Yeah. She looks like a kinrath pup when she's awake, though!" I turned to her and grinned before returning my gaze to Carth. "I bet they've had it rough since they got here. I wouldn't doubt their tired as heck." I stated. Mission nodded softly, staring ahead but not really looking at anything. Worry clouded her grey-black eyes. I set a hand on her shin, not being able to reach anything else, but still trying to be comforting. "He'll be okay, Mission." I said softly. She looked down at me and nodded, sitting down. "I know. I just.." She trailed off, voice becoming softer. "Big Z's the only family I have, you know? I'm just afraid we won't get there in time." She said. My expression softened towards the girl. _You can't believe how right you are when you say he's the only family you have. In time you'll see that. I'll make sure to find your brother, if only to show you he isn't anything but scum. _I laid a hand on her shoulder. "We'll be there in time, Mission. I won't let anything happen to you or Zaalbar.. I promise." She looked up at me and searched my eyes for something; possibly sincerity. She smiled very, very, slightly, and stared at her lap before nodding lightly. "Thank you." She whispered. I nodded. "I'm, uh.. I'm just gonna get s'more sleep before we head to the sewers." She said, laying down. I nodded. "Okay. I'll take the next watch, then." I said casually. I saw her nod before closing her eyes.

I looked over at Carth, who was still sitting upright. _I'll bet twenty credits that's a technique he learned through long nights with the Republic. _I stood up and walked silently over to him. I crouched right in front of him and just stared at his face, eyes wide and bright; watching his every move. He didn't look nearly as peaceful as Revan did. His eyebrows were drawn together in a scowl, his mouth formed a frown. I examined his face. A few slight wrinkles from stress were etched across his forehead. Lo and behold, two stray locks of hair hung down in his face. I smiled slightly. Bang's, if he had any, were slicked back to mangle with his hair further down the scalp. All except those two strands. I don't know why, I just found it amusing. My smile widened with further amusement at his five o' clock shadow. Again, I'm not sure why I found it so amusing. I had the sudden urge to feel the prickles of hair and frowned. _See, this is what I was afraid of. If he knew I was crouching in front of him like this, tempted to run a hand across his stubble; the end result would definitely not be pretty. Everyone would think of me as some kind of stalker or something. Which, if you think about it, isn't far off. I mean, I do know all their background's and identities. _My frown deepened. _Including personal thing's. I wonder what he would think of me, knowing I knew about his family? Knowing I knew where his son was? Knowing I knew about his wife? _I bit back a sigh, so as to not blow on his face. _Besides.. There's no way someone like me could be with someone like him, in any case. All logic and matter defies it. He's much older, has much more experience, and if all else fails, let's not forget he's the king of paranoia. Not to mention he has way too many trust issues. Add that to the fact him and Revan already distrust me. I'll be surprised if we even end up friend's. _

I stared at his closed eyes. _I bet he's cold. Heck, I bet we all are. The damp air isn't helping thing's, either. _I looked around for something, anything that might help solve this problem. There was dirt. Nothing more. I stood up and sighed, before heading to the gate. A shiver ran up my spine, and I ended up in an all-out sprint to the gate; fear clenching my heart. Now a few feet away from the rusted thing, I almost tripped on something. I looked around for any Rakghoul's trying to eat me or my companions, but to my great relief, found none. I looked down at the thing I almost tripped on and gasped. There lay the two blaster pistols I had been lent. "Crap! I can't believe I almost forgot about these.." I quickly picked them up and put them in their holster, not even bothering to put the safety on. I rechecked myself, now self-conscious. Bag, check. Assault rifle, check. Holster; equipped with pistols.. Check. I sighed. "I really need to learn to be more careful."

I scanned the area, again checking for white monsters, before turning to the gate again. I tapped on it lightly. "Excuse me?" I asked. I heard a mumble and shuffling from inside. "Y-yes? Who's there?" He asked. I resisted rolling my eyes. _Oh, please. I'm not any threat to you, you babbling fool. _Though I didn't hold it against him for being afraid. I mean, who could blame him?

"Can I come in?" I inquired. A few moments later, I almost jumped at the screeching of the gate as it opened. I smiled, nodded my head at the gatekeeper, and said my thanks before setting off for my goal. I stopped mid-walk and turned back to him. "Hey, do you think you could keep an eye on my companions for a few minutes?" I asked. "I won't be long, but if any Rakghoul's come I would be pleased to be informed, so I can show them proper protection." I said, politely as I could. The man sat in thought for a minute before looking up at me. "I suppose I could. Your friend over there _did_ help the village earlier." I nodded and thanked him again, then set off for my goal.

I did a round-trip through the small camp, seeing if anyone had any extra blankets. Alot looked at me as if I were stupid and told me to simply go away. _Gee, what friendly people. It's good they keep the place alive. _I thought sarcastically. I eventually came to the old man, Rukil. "Excuse me, sir, but I was wondering if you had any extra blankets I could use?" I said. The half-blinded man squinted at me for a long minute. After awhile, I was tempted to just walk away, hoping he would forget I ever asked. But after he was done apparently examining me, he turned around to his small encampment and searched through a pot. After a few minutes of searching, he came back to me and shook his head. "I'm sorry, young one." He rasped. "Shaleena took the last of the spare blankets to Hendar and his gal not too long ago. But perhaps you could ask our merchant, that Igear fellow. I don't trust him, mind you, but he can be useful for the right amount of credits." I nodded and thanked him, now heading to Igear. _I honestly didn't want to have to ask him, but it seems I have no choice._

I slapped on a fake smile and walked up to the man, trying my hardest to be quiet and graceful while doing so. I inwardly shook with disgust as he looked me over, a smile of his own rising on his face. "What can I do for you?" He asked. I resisted raising an eyebrow. His voice seemed alot lower than it did in the game, though it still had that annoying tint at the end. His expression seemed alot darker, his eyes more sadistic. His stare sent chills down my spine, and his smile made me pale. "Just wondering if a man like you had what a woman like me is looking for." I said, resting a hand on my hip. He again looked me over, eyes landing freely over my chest and hips. "Keep those eyes up, pretty boy. Have any blankets I could use?" Smile never faltering, he rested his eyes on mine. "Sure, I have some blankets you could use. But you'll have to pay.." I didn't like the edge on his voice. Everything in me screamed to just run back to the small encampment Revan had made. I sent him a pleading face. "But, kind sir.. I don't have any credits." I whined. He stepped closer to me. "Well, there are other way's to pay.." He began, staring down my shirt. His cold, sweaty breath cascaded over me, making my stomach get that all too familiar feeling when I was about to puke. "Sorry, handsome." The words tasted gross in my mouth. "But I'm already in a relationship. However.." I drawled the word out slightly. "I heard you were looking for a few journals. I could get my hands on them for you, in exchange for some blankets." The man's smile lowered slightly. He looked up into my face. "Alright. But you better come through with those journals." He said. He turned around and went to messing with a plasteel cylinder. I felt relief and shock flood over me. Suddenly my knees felt weak. _I'm surprised he agreed so quickly. But I won't question. Just so long as I get a few blankets. _He came back to me and shoved a few blankets into my arms. The disappointment on his face was clearly evident, though he obviously looked forward to getting the journal's. I clutched the blankets in my arms tightly and walked away, purposely making sure I walked instead of trotted.

My arms felt crusty. I looked down at them and remembered I still had Rakghoo on me. Although, now, it was more of a plaster than goo. I wrinkled my nose in disgust, both from my recent experience with the merchant and the still fading smell of the Rakghoo plaster stuck on my arms and torso. Not to mention the feel of it. It was disgusting!

I approached the gatekeeper after what felt like miles of purposeful walking. Walking is so _slow!_

He informed me no Rakghoul's had come as of yet, and opened the gate for me. I said my thanks and walked towards the place my companions lay. Yet again, the feel of shivers chorused down my spine, making me feel overly on-edge. I prayed over and over that no Rakghoul would attack me.

A slimy, wet, growl came from the right of me. I jumped, dropped the blankets, grabbed my pistols, and turned towards the offending sound. I wanted to scream. I wanted to scream so bad. Fear shook my entire body as I faced the horrid picture of a Rakghoul running towards me. I shakily, but quickly, lifted the pistol's and held down the triggers, aiming for the white blob. I let go and forced myself to watch, to make sure I hit my target. Fear consumed me when I saw I missed. The Rakghoul screeched in triumph and ran faster. It was like being in a horror movie. I put my arms over my head and felt tears brimming, quickly and easily being let loose. _I'm going to die here. I'm going to die a cruel, horrible death on a planet that will soon be destroyed, in a universe that shouldn't exist. _I crouched down into a protective ball, expecting to be clawed at and bitten continuously.

Pain seared my right arm. I knew the beast had clawed at it, and probably opened it quite well. I shrieked in horror, fear, and pain. Nothing else came. I felt sobs leave me, loudly. I heard a 'thump' in front of me, followed by a Rakghoul groan. I looked up, face wet with tears, throat throbbing in pain, and arm bleeding to no end, to see the white monster dead. It had a good-sized hole in the middle of it. I just sobbed louder, cradling my arm. I heard footsteps running over to me. I was expecting Revan, or Mission, maybe even Carth. But there were more than just one pair of footsteps. The caution so well-engraved in my mind kicked in, preparing me for different enemies. But I couldn't look up. My eyes stayed glued to the floor. I couldn't grab my pistols. Instead my free hand grabbed my bleeding one, only adding to the pain. I felt like someone had peeled the skin off of my arm, then decided to stab at it with a sharp-bladed knife. I knew I had to stop the bleeding; that was basic medical protocol. But I just stayed crouched and cried. Red, metallic boots stopped in front of me. I forced myself with all the willpower I had in me to stop crying and look up. I was met with a red Sith uniform. Relief and dread both washed over me. _My attackers? No. My saviors. How can they be the enemy? At this point in time, I don't care. _I wrapped myself around one of the Sith's leg's, sobs and whimpers escaping freely. He made no motion to shake me off, though I distinctly heard his Sith buddies laughing amongst themselves. Everything was warbled. I couldn't think straight, I couldn't hear very well, and I couldn't see due to the tears.

"Alright, kid. You need to get off. But first you need to get that poison out of your system, otherwise we'll have to kill _you _too." Came the Sith soldier's voice. Carth once made a speech to Canderous about the difference between warriors and soldiers. Right now I couldn't see a difference. Why was I even thinking of that, again? I pressed my tear-stained face against the cold metal of the armor he wore. I could feel darkness setting in. I wasn't quite sure where I was anymore, but I know that I felt extremely tired; all of a sudden. I was crudely ripped away from him, my strength not enough to fight against theirs. I felt my body fall face-down on the grey, rough, dirt. I wasn't sure what was going on. I felt different thing's move around me, but that was the end of it.

"I don't think she's well enough to move," Came a warbled voice. I closed my eyes to try and ignore the dizziness I was feeling. "Well, we don't need another Rakghoul on our case. Inject one of those cheapies we got into her, it'll keep her at bay." Came an authoritive warbled voice. "I swear. We upper-Taris citizens shouldn't have to _deal_ with scum like these. We barely have enough serum for our own men! Once you get that thing into her, let's get out of here."

I felt something very similiar to a needle poke my thigh. The darkness that had been closing in on me, and the sickness in my stomach, and all the warbled sounds I was hearing began to clear. Tears stung my eyes. Not out of sorrow or pain, but thankfulness. I scoffed in my mind, though still crying and in great pain. _I can see the headlines now. Teenage girl falls for the Sith after being carelessly rescued, even though it was for their own benefit. _The fog was beginning to clear in my mind, and I could finally think. _Nothing like this has ever happend before.. _I thought helplessly. _I'm usually so focused! Even in spots like these.._

I shakily reached for my bag, opening my eyes. I was relieved to find it still there, and grabbed a medpac from it's innards. I removed the cap from it's top and injected the needle into my thigh. The effect was instantaneous. The pain was gone almost as quickly as it had came, and I watched as the wound healed over in under a minute. I stared at my arm, unbelievingly. The pain was dull, and my arm held only a ginormous scab, similiar to a third degree burn. It was at the point where if it rubbed against anything, it would surely rip off; easily.

I felt tired. I sat up and rechecked everything, making sure I really had all my items. Bag, Rifle, holsters, pistols. All there. I put the blaster pistols back into their place and looked around. The only evidence anything had really transpired was a bunch of drying blood on the ground. I looked around for my saviors, but they were long gone. _Everything happened so fast.. Did it really all just happen? And I thought the Sith were to show no mercy. But perhaps.. in their own twisted way, it was all self-gratification to them. In any case, I'm lucky to be alive._

I backtracked and went to pick up the blankets I had earlier dropped, carefully making sure my arm was out of any harm's way. Tears were dry on my face and left my cheeks crusted, making me yet again wish I could take a shower. The wonderful feeling of cleanliness I had before we left the Bek base was long gone, barely even leaving a memory.

My leg's were weak and wobbly, and it took me longer than usual to walk back to where my companions were. That's another thing I noticed - I was walking; not trotting. _I hope when they said 'cheapies' they meant bargain. I sure hope that stuff they injected actually works. _My stomach felt disgusting. I still hadn't eaten anything, and I actually felt kind of grateful I hadn't. If I had, there would be no point. I would just puke it back up.

I collapsed with the blankets a few feet away from the burnt-out fire and sighed. _Maybe I could just lay here for awhile, and no one will notice. _I scoffed out loud. _Right. Get real. _What a statement that was, considering where I am.

I looked over at a half-asleep Mission. _I doubt she'll actually, fully, sleep until we get Zaalbar. Although, she could only be half-asleep because she's trying to be alert. _I thanked the Force (It felt weird doing so) she had slept through my Rakghoul attack. I wouldn't want her waking up because of me. _Force knows she needs her rest._

I looked over at Revan. She was still asleep, though she was now on her side. I smiled slightly and shook my head. _Your really not all that tough, are you? _I frowned. _At least not yet. _The thought of a powerful Revan scared me, slightly. Would she lose control and just simply kill everyone? I suddenly wondered how Bastila had felt during all this. _Wait. What?_ I mentally smacked myself, frowning. _'All this' hasn't even happened yet. And when I refer to that, I'm still thinking about a game. _I sighed and closed my eyes, resting my head on the blankets. Up until now, it hadn't really dawned on me that all the information I held could be worthless. I had no control over Revan.

_..Yet._

I opened my eyes and forced myself to stand up, taking a blanket with me. I draped it over Mission, then made sure it was on her properly. Her eyes drearily opened, and sleepily landed on me. "Huh?" She mumbled. I smiled miserably. "Just go back to sleep, Mission." I said soothingly. I congratulated myself when she did so. _I guess my 'mother' voice still works. _I confirmed. I picked up another blanket and as silently as I could headed over to Revan. I smirked at the scene. She was resting on her arms, which made her cheek end up closer than usual to her eye. I shook my head and gently laid the blanket on her, taking extra care not to wake the former Sith Lord. I looked back at the remaining two blankets and frowned before looking back to Revan. I sighed. _Why do I have to be such a good person?_

A question I ask myself alot. Though, lately..

I walked over to the blanket's and folded one up a few times, making a padded square. I walked back over to Revan and very carefully removed her arms from underneath her head. I felt heat scratch my neck. Would she wake up and punch me? I sure hope not. Thankfully I removed her arms enough to slide the blanket under her head. I stood up and put my hands on my hips, looking at my accomplishment. _There. That should feel alot better. _I stared at her grimly. _I sure hope she doesn't wake up and yell at me, saying her neck hurts or she's got a medical condition or something. She already depises me enough as it is. _

I walked over and grabbed the last blanket, then approached Carth. He was still sitting up. I cringed. _Gosh, dude. Doesn't that hurt your back? _I kneeled next to him and placed one hand on his back, and the other on his chest. I carefully and gently lowered him onto the ground. I prayed that he would stay asleep, just like Revan did.

But noooo. Fate seems to hate me. (Luck loves me, though!) His eyes snapped open, and I jumped backwards. Like, four feet. He looked over at me, looked around the small camp, then closed his eyes again. I practically fainted. Was that my heart going out? Sure felt like it! I returned to trying to lay him down and succeeded. I shook my head and placed the blanket over him. _Tch. Revan, in fourteen years or so, when you guy's are married; I'm definitely going to tell this story._

I frowned. I bet his head was uncomfortable, too. I shrugged. _Well, I can't fix _everything.

I sat down in front of where the fire had been and rested my head in my hands. _I really am tired. Which to me is amazing, because frankly, I have insomnia alot of the time. Even when I get to sleep, I wake up every five minutes to a half an hour. _I sighed and laid down with a 'thud', letting my arms swing over my head and rest there. _I really shouldn't be complaining, but how come I couldn't have gotten stuck in KotOR 2? Why'd it have to be number one? I mean, at least in number two there's a possible after-story. There's actually something to do after we end the game. _I froze. That hit like a rock. '_After we end the game'.. What will happen after we win? And that is, of course, assuming I even make it off this planet. Will I find myself woken up in my bed, seeing this is all a dream?_ I 'hmphed'. _That's partly the reason I'm going so easily with this. I don't believe it's real. Although.. _I looked at my arm. _The pain sure is. Maybe it isn't a dream. I'm not sure. I can't tell.. And that's the part that scares me. If I get too attached to these people and find out this is a dream, it'll hurt. If I get attached to these people and find out this isn't a dream, it'll still hurt. Many of the companions die after the end. Well.. At least that's what always seemed logical. Juhani will die in the Jedi Civil War, Jolee will die from old age eventually, Carth continues on and becomes an admiral... T3 ends up with the Jedi Exile, HK also ends up with the Exile.. Geez. Why do the droids get it so easy? Although I'm sure HK would tell me different. Heh.. _I began doing crunches, but found it was alot harder than usual. I only did two this time. I laid back down and huffed frustratedly. _Stupid Rakghoul. This is all _your_ fault. _I stared at the cement ceiling, still feeling caged. _Canderous takes upon himself the role of Mandalore and restores the Mandalorians to power. Well... For a time. Don't they go extinct? I can't remember. But that's not until years later. After Revan either kills or saves the Republic, he- I mean, she; goes off to the Unknown Regions. Bastila stay's with Carth. I guess she's really useless until the Exile sends her Jedi crew members to go restore The Order, isn't she? Tch. I don't know what happens to Zaalbar, truthfully. I suppose he would go home, after Revan leaves. He probably becomes chieftan after his father dies. I wonder if Mission would go with him. I'm sure she would, I mean.. That's the entire reason she stay's with us in the first place. But then again, she might stay with Carth. Who knows? That bring's me to Dustil. If he's saved, he goes back to Telos later, after he's warned his friend's. Never really liked him. He had the same voice actor as that Brejik fellow. Didn't like his voice. He needs to shave off those sideburns, too. Yuthura can either become the new leader of the Sith Academy, or she can come back to the Academy on Dantooine and be killed with the rest of everybody when Malak bombs it. Honestly, I kind of liked her character. If I had to choose, I would let her take the place as succesor to the Academy director. Not necessarily because I want her to die a Sith and be miserable her entire life, but because if she lives, there's always a chance for redemption. I'm not quite sure what I'm saying when I say redemption. I don't believe in the ways of the Jedi. Their fools and liars. Atton was correct through and through. "The Jedi are Pacifists, except in times of war. Their teachers.. Except when it comes to telling their students the truth. And when they save you, it's only so you can suffer more." The Exile is living proof. Right now she's probably roaming around somewhere in the Outer Rim. The Jedi.. We'll have to face them soon on Dantooine. I don't like the Jedi or the Sith. Both extremes are... repulsive. _I looked over at Revan and frowned. _What exactly is she? She isn't a Jedi. She's not necessarily a Sith, either. She's just... Moody. _A smile rolled onto my face. _A typical woman._

I suddenly felt very cold, followed by a shiver. _Gha. I gave that stupid addictive woman my blanket. I hope she's happy. _I sighed and rolled over, and jumped when I saw something move in front of me. I quickly sat up. My first thought was, _A Rakghoul? _But upon closer inspection, I saw it was actual people. I looked closer and felt a grin slide into place. _Well, well. Canderous finally decided to join us. I'm sure we'll run into him later. _I looked over my companions. _Which means it's about time to wake up. _I stood up and stretched. _Pity. I didn't even get to review the KotOR 2 people._

I walked over to Mission and shook her lightly. Her eyes popped open before drooping down again. "Ehh.. .. What?" She mumbled, wiping the sleep from her eyes. "We should probably get going." I said. She was up faster than I could say 'Let's go'. She still looked a little groggy, but she would be ready if anything happened. She looked around. "Hey.. Where'd the blankets come from?" She asked. "A guy I know. You wanna wake up Miss Moody, or King Paranoia?" I answered. She grinned. "I think I'll take my chances with Carth." I sighed and shook my head. "Brilliant."

She giggled. I made my way over to the former Sith Lord and crouched in front of her, wondering what the best way would be. I sighed. "This is _not_ going to be easy. I wonder if it's too late to switch out with Mission." I looked over at the blue bundle of enthusiasm. She was tapping Carth lightly on the shoulder, to no avail waking him up. _I moved him and he barely bat an eye. You'll have to do more than that. _I looked down at Revan. _These guy's were really out. They must've been extremely tired._

I moved a few strands of hair out of Revan's face and looked at her. I mean, really looked at her. She really was beautiful. Her eyes held semi-dark circles underneath them, but it didn't make her look any less gorgeous. _Hmph. I suddenly understand why Carth nicknames her 'Beautiful' and 'Gorgeous'. _Her eyelid's were dark, like they had a red-tan makeup on them. But it was obvious there was none. It was natural. Her nose was perfect. I mean, literally perfect. Her eyebrows were shaped and equal. When did she get them done? Maybe she did them herself. Can they do that here? Does _Star Wars _have beauty objects? So many thing's I didn't know. But now I was actually here. Or was I? Maybe. Her eyelashes were long, thick, and dark; matching the color of her hair. Not that her hair was really dark, but her roots were. At least darker than the rest of her hair. Her lips were... very interesting. They were lighter in the middle, and darker around. It was amazing, really. I had seen people with makeup like that, but never seen it actually being natural. Her skin was fair in complexion, almost as white as mine was. Like me, she had no achne or pimples or any other skin problems. Her eyes were closed, but I knew her eyes were blue and beautiful. They had a shattered glass effect. Honestly, anyone could easily get lost in them.

I had a sudden urge to see them, to have her open her eyes and let me view those shattered orbs. "Revan.." I said quietly. "Er.. I mean.." I said in my normal voice. "Alora.." Back to my soft voice. "Please wake up." I gently set a hand on her shoulder and shook her lightly. Her eyebrows drew together, but she didn't get up. She didn't make any attempt to move or any sign she would be soon. I sighed. That was the exact response I got when I moved her arms to give her a pillow. I knew what I wanted to do, wanted to try. But I knew once she woke up she would kill me. I felt a trickle of fear pass before deciding to just do it. "Now or never. Besides, what a better way to find out if this is a dream?" I asked. I slid my arms around her waist, trying hard not to accidentally hurt her. "Heave!" I cried. She was regular in width, and was surpisingly light. That is, until I tried picking her up _completely. _I groaned. _How the heck am I gonna get this lug onto my back?_

The eyes I so craved opened, followed by a scowl, which was followed by a punch in the gut. I bent over and closed my eyes, grinning; savoring the pain. "Good morning to you, too." Revan - or rather, Alora - regained her composure and stood up straight, wiped her eyes, then looked around. It took her a moment to realize where she was; you could easily tell. She looked at me and frowned. "Yeah, good morning." She looked towards Carth, who was still being woken up by Mission, unsuccessfully. "We heading to the sewers?" She asked. I nodded. She bobbed her head in a mirror of me and then walked over to Mission and Carth. Mission was crouched next to him, poking and prodding him lightly. Revan shook her head and frowned, but with a playful atmosphere. "No, no, no. You can't wake him up like _that_. I learned this the first time." She gently moved Mission out of the way, then straddled Carth, still standing up. "You do it like_ this_." She advised. She fell onto the Republic soldier, kneeing him in the gut and sitting on his leg's. Carth ubruptly sat up, groaning loudly. "Agh! Alora!" He cried. The former Sith Lord only grinned malevolently in response. By now me and Mission were both trying to contain our amusement. Alora made a knuckle, put it on his head, and gave him a noogie. I laughed. _They do that here? _Carth scowled, trying to swat her hands away. "Wakie Wakie, Carth!" She cried. My grin faded. _My dad used to say that all the time. It was extremely annoying. He gave me noogies, too. _I pushed aside the memory and instead watched as Carth continued to try and swat away her hands. I eventually started smiling again. _I can relate with his annoyance, haha._

I watched, not really feeling part of the group, but still smiling. _What a happy moment. I'll bet this becomes a savored memory someday. Heh.. Poor Carth. Ah, well. On the bright side, Revan seems to be in a better mood than she was before. _I frowned. _I really am not part of the group, am I? I never will be. I was never meant to be. What am I even doing here? They don't need me. _

"But you need them." Whispered a voice. I did a double-take, eyes wide. _What the-? I'm hearing voices now? Great. Why does my life suddenly seem like a Maximum Ride rip-off? _The voice had sounded so clear. Like it had been whispered right in my ear. But there was no one there. There was no point stressing over it, stress just causes wrinkles. I ignored whatever I had heard and clapped my hands, then rubbed them, getting the attention of my comrades. "Alright. We ready to head to the sewers?" I asked. Mission looked over at me, still smiling. Revan quit her pestering, but still held a smirk. Carth scowled at Revan, but held an almost .. happy atmostphere. I suddenly felt like I was in a spotlight. _Uhh.. Maybe I shouldn't have interrupted. _

Mission stood up, followed by a semi-reluctant Revan, who stuck a hand out to Carth, who took it, who stood up. Revan's face of pleasure was long gone, replaced by a business look. "Alright. Let's go. Everyone grab your gear, and-" She stopped. She looked at the blankets, then looked at each of her comrades faces, examining if they knew anything. Mission jabbed a thumb in my direction. Revan looked at me, and scowled. Her amazing blue eyes held nothing but hatred for me, leaving me feeling very alone. "You did this?" She asked. I nodded softly. She glared at me. "Thank you." She hissed. She turned around, walking in a direction, leaving us behind; not even bothering to check if she left anything behind. I watched after her sadly. _She despises me. She hates me for having to make her thank me. She didn't have to, but.. _I felt my heart tear. It desperately wanted to harden, to become immune. But something inside me repeated warning's, telling me if I did so, I would become a monster. My heart wanted to darken. _She didn't even notice or thank me for the pillow. _I pouted. I began to pick up the blankets and fold them, expression showing nothing. _When did I even start caring? _The thoughts made me realize how horrible I was, but also made me realize how pathetic I was. _I am only human. I have no uniqueness, I'm in a foreign galaxy, and I'm using the one person who deserves not to be used. The Jedi already used her enough. _More sadistic twists pulled at the corners of my mind. I smiled sardonically, staring uninterested at the folded bundle of blankets. I looked up at Mission, who was looking at me oddly. "We could stash these behind some rubble and come back for them later." I said, losing any expression of interest I had before, and frowning. She nodded. "Okay. I think I saw a good place not too far from here."

/ / / / /

I scrunched my nose in disgust. "Yep. I'd say we're getting closer to the sewers." I said. Mission flashed me a grin. "You think it's bad now, wait till we actually get IN there!" I suddenly began to dread coming in the first place. The sewers isn't exactly where a germaphobic person like me wants to be. I NEVER go to a public bathroom. EVER. The sewers? Not anywhere I would go willingly. But there was no other choice, was there? I felt like puking again, although I knew nothing would come out.

Now, I have slight Mysophobia. But I'm getting over it reaallyyy quickly, being down here in the dirt. The sewers is a different matter. Why do I get the feeling I'll be having nightmares? Joke. I don't get nightmares. I barely even dream anymore.

When I said germaphobic, I meant I _HATE_ germs. I am in no way afraid of them.

The smell was getting worse. I covered my nose with my hands, then quickly put them down. The smell of Rakghoul plaster wasn't much better than the smell of the sewer. In fact, it's probably toxic, which is worse.

"S-stop! Stop right there!" Came a shaky voice. The group and I simultaneously looked to our left. There stood three or four boys, all young, all carrying blasters too big for their arms. Heck,_ I _could probably even carry them better. An older man, probably in his late fourties or mid fifties, came out from the middle of them. "Put your gun down, boy. We've already lost enough men to the Rakghoul's."

I would recognize that voice anywhere. Which, if you think about it, is kind of weird. He's from a game, and he wasn't even that big of a character; naturally.

Revan glared him down. "Who the heck are you?" She asked. Canderous glared her down tenfold. "Someone you don't want to mess with. If your here to salvage from those escape pods, you can forget about it. Me and my men already have that job." He said. Revan's eyes glimmered with amusement and excitement. "Is that a threat?" She glared. Canderous barely got his mouth open before one of the young men cried, startled, "I hear something! Over there! It's probably another Rakghoul!" There was no time to talk. Everyone simultaneously pulled out their weapon or got it ready, preparing themselves for battle. I pulled out my pistols and aimed in the general direction of the sound; already knowing where it was coming from and what it was. _I can't believe this part actually happened. Just how closely does this follow with the game? _

Four Rakghoul's popped out behind some large cement rubble. My throat went dry, and fear crawled up my spine. _I don't remember there being that many._ I glanced briefly at the black button on the 'special' blaster, before pushing aside the thought and instead focusing on a target. I held down the triggers, trying to get a good shot. Revan was hacking and slashing away to her hearts desire, getting a few cuts along the way. Carth was shooting every which way, almost like he wasn't aiming. I ignored what I thought was his purposeful missing, and let go of the triggers. I felt a measure of pride when one of the beasts arms flew off. Of course, pride and triumph were soon followed by the urge to puke. _Ugh! Why do these thing's have to smell so disgusting? _

The monster which I had de-armed (Literally, haha) ran towards me. I didn't feel as afraid as I had earlier. I felt.. Brave, even. "Ugh! Haar'chak!" The words came naturally. I slapped my pistols back into the holsters and swung around the assault rifle, intending to use it as a stick to slap the beast with. I almost missed the look Canderous gave me. Surprise? Confusion? Curiosity. _Don't tell me it's _real_? That's_ real _Mando'a? I thought it was just some made-up language a geek on the internet made up; a language I partially learned and memorized so I could speak beyond the ears of the unknowing. No time to dwell on it now, though. I'm sure I'll have plenty of time to ask him about it later. _I held the blaster like a club, ready and waiting for the beast to get close enough. Before, when a Rakghoul ran towards me, all I could feel was fear. All I could think was I was about to die. But now.. Now I anticipated the attack. I couldn't wait to feel the heat of battle. Anger, anticipation, and excitement coursed through my veins.

It lunged at me. I side-stepped and whacked it in the face, sending it a few feet sideways. I quickly reversed the hold on the blaster so I was holding it upright, and pulled the trigger. I was surprised, really. It put a good-sized hole in the Rakghoul, sending it to it's miserable death. Triumph. It felt so good. I turned to look at how everyone else was fairing. All the other Rakghoul's were dead; Revan was finishing off the last one. _Well. The heat of battle was sure short-lived. _

Canderous shook his head in disgust. "That's enough for one day. We've already lost enough men to these damned Rakghoul's. Come on, boy's. We're heading back to the surface." He gestured for the remaining two young men to follow him. On his way out, he gave me a look that screamed, 'I will see you again'. _I'm not sure if I should fear the unspoken promise, or if I should simply embrace it. Either way, I _will _be seeing him again. _I was broken from my thoughts by a hard, cold, slap to the face. Now, I'm used to being slapped. But, dang that hurt! It felt more like a punch than a slap. My jaw hurt. I glared at my attacker: Revan.

"What the heck what that for?" I yelled. She glared at me venemously. I contemplated taking a step back. "For cursing! You stupid kid!" I was about to retort and inform her she had no say whether I curse or not, but stopped. I cursed? Oh, yeah. I relaxed a bit and looked at her boredly. "Right. I forgot your multi-lingual." She just glared further. "Where, in the fracking hell, did you learn something like _that_?" She demanded. I squinted at her and shook my head. "You are so stupid." _I think I might've liked you better as a Sith Lord! _"It's not like I said anything_ terribly _bad. Force. Get a grip, Reva-" _Crap. _"Alora." Her stare softened. She no longer looked at me, but rather, through me. Her eyes were glazed over. _Revan? _"Alora?" I asked. _A flashback? _A few seconds passed. I waved a hand in front of her face. She glared at me again, eyes clear. "Let's just move on." She spat. I looked over to Mission and gave her a questioning glance. She shrugged. I gave Carth the same questioning glance, but he didn't see it. He was already trailing behind an angry - and perhaps slightly confused - Revan. Mission came up to my side, watching after the two. "Sheesh. What did you say?" She asked. "I spoke in Mando'a, a mandalorian language." I told her, both of us following after them. She looked at me curiously. "Yeah, but what did you _say_?" She asked again. I looked at her casually. "Damn it." The words felt good rolling out of my mouth. Natural and comfortable, not to mention anger relieving. Who knows why those words relieved anger.

The futhermore approaching stink of the sewers made me become acutely aware of how close we were getting. Dread washed over me in waves. I felt, once again, like I were going to puke. But also yet again, there was nothing to puke. _Ugh. This has_ really _gotta stop happening. Someday I'm going to puke up my guts or something. _I looked around, almost frantically. "Where's Revan?" I asked. Mission pointed at a rusted hole. I stared at it, eyes wide, nose burning from the smell emanating from it. Tears welled up in my eyes from the strong scent.

"Please tell me we're _not_ going in there."


	4. To the sewers! Or rather, in them

Chapter 4: To the sewers! Or rather, In them.

I had a headache. Why, you ask? From the wonderful smell of Taris's bowels. That's why. Now, let's get something straight. I have a bad sniffer. My nose doesn't work at the greatest capacity, in otherwords. So what I'm smelling has got to be nothing compared to the real smell. The pounding of everyone's feet on the metal-plated floors were driving me insane. We had been trekking in the sewers for what felt like ages and we hadn't run into even one Gammorean yet. Not even a Rakghoul. Nothing! It was making me overly on-edge. It wasn't anything like this in the game. The routes and walkways didn't even seem familiar to me. But, despite my feeling's, I walked alongside Mission; rubbing my temples in a futile attempt to sooth my headache. "Are you_ sure _we're headed the right direction?" I asked for the fourth time. Revan rolled her eyes. "Of course we are," She said. "I can feel it."

I raised an eyebrow. "You can feel it." I 'pffft'd. "Well, that makes _everything _better. I'm so glad we're heading in the right direction. I mean, if you can_ feel _it, of_ course _we're headed the right way." She shot me a glare that almost made me amused, if it weren't for the fact she could easily kill me. "Where's the map?" I said, voice not loosing it's attitude or sarcasm. She didn't stop walking, but looked off in a corner. "We don't have one." She said. I sighed, amusement and sarcasm all gone, and being replaced by exasperation. "We couldn't afford one?" I asked calmly. She shot me another glare. "I don't need to be patronized by you! First of all, there is no 'we'. Second of all, I have a Scout's instinct. It's gotten me everywhere I've needed to be up until now, I doubt it'll start failing me."

I stopped walking, leg's and feet tired, and looked at her oddly. Mission, Carth, and Revan all stopped walking, too. "So then, we_ purposely _don't have a map?" I asked. Revan put her hands on her hips and simply glared at me. I just stared at her tiredly. _I didn't get any sleep like the rest of them did. Plus I'm not as in shape as the rest of them are. I don't even have the will to verbally fight her. It's pointless, anyway_. _And we've been walking for ages. Are we going in circles? _If she spoke, I didn't hear her. I wasn't listening. "Alora has a.. Troubled history with maps." Carth said, looking at her amusedly. I raised an eyebrow. "'Troubled History'?" I asked. Revan turned on her heel and walked away from us. "I'll just take that as a 'I'll never find out'." I said. Carth nodded, looking after Revan's retreating figure, amused. Barely even a few seconds passed before we all walked after her again.

We easily caught up to her, seeing as how she had stopped. She was leaned over something. I looked over her shoulder to see what she was looking at, and almost died from the smell coming from it. There in front of her, was a hole. Revan shrugged, set both hands on either side of the hole, kicked her feet in, and raised her hands to let her drop down into it. I looked at Carth pleadingly. "Please,_ please _tell me she didn't just go deeper into the sewers." Carth looked like he was struggling to keep back disgust from showing on his face. He was failing. Miserably. "Yeah, it looks like it." He said, before propping himself down the hole. I looked at Mission frantically. "We don't have to go down into there, do we? Do we?" My eyes probably looked like they were going to pop out of their sockets. Mission looked at me, then glanced back into the hole. "If we're gonna find Big Z down there, then I'm going." She said, plugging her nose and plunging down into the cramped space. I looked down at the hole with fear, disgust, and resentment. Did I mention I'm claustrophobic?

I stuck both my feet in the hole and sat down on the ledge next to it. "I wish there was a ladder," I squeaked, before pushing myself off the ledge and into the darkness.

The floor hit my feet and sent a quake up my leg's and through my body. I tried to keep on my feet and stood up. It was alot darker down here than up top. I looked around and saw the three retreating figures of Carth, Revan, and Mission. "Wait up!" I squealed. I ran up to them right as they had opened up a door. We walked into a brighter area, a small hallway. I looked around. _This seems very familiar... That's a good sign, I guess. But that also means-_

Shook-Shak!

The door in front of us opened, revealing a room full of several hungry Rakghoul's. I quickly pulled my pistols out of their holsters and prepared to be knawed at. I aimed at a Rakghoul's head and pulled the trigger, but nothing happened. I crinkled a brow and was about to check the safety when I was almost blown back by an unexpected kick from the blaster, followed by a string of electricity. It hit the Rakghoul that was still defiantly racing towards me, and left it crisped. I stared, open-mouthed, at the fried monster. Carth and Mission had somewhat the same expressions I had. Revan was fighting with her swords, back turned to us, so she was oblivious as to what had just transpired. Carth was the first to regain his composure as he grinned and continued shooting at the offensive Rakghoul's. "I have _got_ to get me one of those," He said. I flashed a grin before changing the setting's on the special blaster and shooting at more Rakghoul's.

Another one dead by my hand. Or rather, by my blaster. I smiled feebly. _You know, this is kind of fun. Like a shooting game or something. Of course, there's actual penalties.. _I looked at my still healing arm._ But this is still pretty cool. When I'm shooting, it doesn't feel as real as everything else. Like I'm plunged into a world of fun, and taken out of the cold world I'm actually in. When I shoot, the triggers don't pop like a gun trigger does. It barely even gives a little bump. And then of course, it shoots. But that doesn't seem real either. The red light that shoots from it doesn't seem like it should come out of there. It's ... unreal. And then when the blaster bolt hits the Rakghoul, it doesn't seem to effect it. So that makes it seem even more unreal. But I know this has to be real... it's too real not to be._

I watched the last Rakghoul get stabbed through the chest with one of Revan's blades before she pulled it back out and let the monster fall to the ground. Remember that toxic stink I told you about when a Rakghoul dies? Well, it's SO much worse now that we're trapped in an enclosed space!

Tears stung my eyes, my throat burned, and I started coughing. _Somehow I don't think this is good for people with asthma! _I thought sarcastically. I covered my face with an arm and ran over to the door nearest the chewed corpse. I quickly opened the door and eagerly invited the rush of semi-fresh air that flew into the room. I looked back at my companions. Revan was checking over the corpse for something, Carth was aiding her, though trying to stop his coughs, and Mission had an arm over her face, coughing. "Oh, Man!" She cried. "Those Rakghoul's _STINK!" _

I nodded, still with a disgusted expression. The monsters bones looked like they were trying to pop out of their skin, and the blood stains that tainted their goo-slathered skin made them look like they had come from a horror movie. I looked at Revan and Carth, then at the corpse beneath them. I don't think I had ever seen anything more terrifying. My stomach twisted; something I was starting to get used to. The corpse's skin had been ripped off, it's eyes had been clawed out, and the remaining flesh on the bones were rotting; leaving a horrifying smell. I couldn't breathe. I just couldn't. The stench of death was suffocating me, literally. I ran down the hall, still clasping onto my pistols, and tried desperately to find at least semi-fresh air. The stink of the sewers was like fresh air compared to that rotting corpse. Tears stung my eyes. I stopped and looked back down the hall, connected to the room I had just left. I had to go back to the others; for quite a few reasons. A couple of them being 1. I had close to no protection without them, 2. The room they were in was connected to the Vulkar Base, which I wanted to get to before they did. But I either really had to think about how to open the force field, or I had to get Mission to open it for me. Which, in case you hadn't noticed, wasn't going to do that until we got Big Z out of eminent slavery. I started heading back to the rest of the group, but before I finished taking my first step, I felt a thick metal pole be placed around my neck and forcefully pull me back into something hard. Already I was running out of air. _CRAP!_ I felt more tears sting my eyes. Was I going to die here? I brought my hands to the metal pole and tried to free myself enough to breath a little, but to no avail. Whatever was holding me was way stronger than I was, and was killing me. Fast. My Blaster rifle dug into my back. _Haar'chak. I really hope it doesn't go off on me. I have to shoot whatever it is that's got me - quick! _A few tears slid down my dirtied face. I tried to get out the word, 'Help' but all that came out was rasping. The hallway was darkening, and not in the way the lights were dying. I felt my strength leaving me. It's an odd feeling, to die. My life didn't flash before my eyes, like everybody say's it's supposed to. I heard something. A blaster shot, perhaps. The pole around my neck fell, letting a painful gust of wind into my lungs. It almost hurt so much to breathe, I didn't know if I wanted to! Maybe it'd just be better to die. Then I would go back home. But somehow, I had a feeling that the journey for me was far from over.

I turned to look at my attacker and saw a grotesque green pig-looking creature with a human-like visage. Matted hair covered it's burly arms and pudgy leg's, with smelly thing's I couldn't even name caught in it. The scrunched-up, deformed green face of the thing had over-sized teeth jutting out of the bottom, looking almost painful. _This must be what the people in this universe know as 'Gamorreans.' _The Gamorrean had a nice-sized blaster bolt in-between it's eyes; which brought me back to my saviors. I turned back the other way to see who had saved me, and not to my surprise, Carth was trotting over to me, Mission and Revan closely in tow. "Why did you run off like that?" He demanded. "You could have gotten killed!" He said. Mission ran up to me and looked at me, wide-eyed. "You almost died! Why did you run off like that?" I heard Revan mumble something along the lines of, 'Fracking stupid kid'.

I looked at Carth quizzically. "You make it sound like you actually care." I said, making me become acutely aware just how much my throat hurt. Carth looked the slightest bit shocked at the statement before narrowing his eyes. "I will never stand by and let a teammate die if I can help it," He said. "I've seen enough death in the wars, I don't need to see more of it." I felt a sudden pang of guilt, but couldn't help but feel I had somehow been betrayed; Like in him doing something I had not expected, he had done something completely wrong and unforgivable. I looked at him grimly. "I'm sorry," I said, softer than I had before. For a few reasons, of course. One being that I really was sorry, and the other being that my throat really, really, fracking hurt. He opened his mouth to respond, but I beat him to it. "I'm just not used to people being nice to me, or sparing me a second thought. I'm definitely not used to people saving my life." I told him. He closed his mouth and looked at me with an expression I couldn't name. "I was going to shoot that core-slime out of existance, but the old geezer here beat me to it." Mission said. I smiled at her gratefully. "Thanks," I said. She beamed. "No problem. I'll definitely get them next time. Because, hey, we're a team, right?" She said. My smile dimmed slightly. Were we a team? The words felt funny. 'Team.' Was I part of one, now? It didn't feel like it. _Maybe when I get to bastila it'll feel more like it, _I tried to convince myself. _But then again.. In my place, I can't make attachments. Maybe I don't want to be a part of 'The Team.' _Some part of me wanted to share everything I was feeling, but everything else screamed at me and said I couldn't. So, instead, "Of course, Mission."

She smiled. My heart broke a little bit more.

I glanced behind them at the hallway leading to the previous room. Sure, I could easily find Zaalbar, but I needed to get inside the Vulkar base sooner than them. Mission glanced that direction too. She looked back at me quizzically. I looked up at her and then glanced back down the hallway. How was I going to get there before them? About two second's later; _Aha! _An idea perked up. I looked over at Revan, then to Carth, then to Mission. "Alright, let's go. I know exactly where we need to start heading," I told them, spinning around to face the opposite hallway of the Vulkar Base. I immediately headed where I knew Zaalbar would be. "What? How do_ you_-" Revan started. I interrupted her, "Now, be prepared, you guy's. There's alot of Gamorreans guarding him; though I'm not sure why, so get ready to kick alot of pig butt. Or whatever they have where their butts _should_ be." I said. I think I heard Carth and Mission snicker - Though it could have just been Mission. I felt eyes burning into the back of my head. "You don't know?" Revan asked acidly. I looked back at her, eyebrow raised, then shrugged. "Uhh, no. Excuse me if I don't study these thing's. Gamorreans aren't exactly on the 'study' priority list," I said.

We didn't run into any more Gamorreans on the trip there, which surprised me. (And kind of put me on edge.) We stopped in front of the door I 78% knew Zaalbar would be behind, and I gestured towards it cautiously. "This should be it," I said. Carth, taking the lead, stepped forward and opened the door. I prepared myself for a barrage of Gamorrean's, pistols in hand, and stance at the ready. But none came. I almost fell over when I saw the scene in front of me. "Your... Your kidding!" I whispered. About thirteen or fourteen Gamorreans lay in the room.. all asleep and snoring log's. My face must have looked that of delirium. I looked over to Mission. "Well... I guess this makes our quest easier," I whispered. "But we have to be very quiet." I said. She nodded mutely and walked with amazing stealth towards the door in the middle of the room. She looked at it before whispering back to us about it's oddities; statements I had heard time and time again in similiar words from her. The door opened with a far too loud 'Shook-shak!' and a very hungry Zaalbar stepped out from it. He looked stunned and happy, and was about to open his mouth to say something, when Mission put a finger to her lips to tell him to shush. He glanced around at the Gamorreans and then looked back to her with understanding. The green pig's had shifted and shook with the door opening, but none woke. For that, I was overly grateful. Mission and Zaalbar hurriedly walked out of the room and into a different corridor so they could speak.

"Your a sight for sore eyes, Mission,"

Zaalbar growled bittersweetly. I smiled slightly. I could understand Wookiee, too, then. Mission hugged the big lug and cried, "I missed you too Big Z!" Zaalbar made a face that might have been a smile, but to the unknowing eyes, looked alot like a menacing expression. Well, I suppose all Wookiee expressions look menacing.

"Look, not that this isn't sweet and all, but we still have a Mission to accomplish." Revan said. Mission removed herself from Zaalbar and looked at Revan with a toothy grin. "Sorry," She said. She gestured to Carth and Revan, looking from her to Zaalbar. "Big Z, this is Alora and Carth, my new friend's. Without their help I would never have been able to find you!" She said. I sat back and watched the scene with a slight smile on my face, until Mission quickly turned to me as well. "And this is Tessa," She said. "She helped alot, too. I guess she's the real reason we're even here, come to think of it.." She trailed off, in thought. Zaalbar looked to me and nodded. _"Then I thank you." _He said. I nodded nonchalantly. "No problem." I looked over to Revan and was about to mention how we better get going, when another chain of roars and grunts stopped me. _"You know the language of my people? That is rare among your kind... I am impressed." _I felt sweat itch my neck. This conversation was way too familiar for it's own good.

"You have saved me from a life of servitude and slavery. There is only one way I can ever repay such an act: I will sw-"

I quickly interrupted him.

What would ever happen if he swore it to me? The entire story would be ruined, that's what! Plus, it would ruin my chances of ever getting off this rock!

"No!" I cried. He looked at me in confusion, which was shared by the other occupants of the room. "Uhh.." I looked around awkwardly. "I mean to say, I didn't save you. Rev- Alora here, did." I gestured to her, as if to make a point. He looked from her to me in confusion before seemingly making a choice. _"I will swear a lifedebt to you." _He finished, speaking now to Revan. I felt myself visibly relax and tried to fight back a sigh of relief. The storyline wouldn't be changed too dramatically.

That was a close one. I guess it was my fault for hurrying too much and simply leading them through the sewers. I'm not exactly known for patience.

After their little conversation, we were off and headed to the Vulkar base. When we came to a big circular room in the upper sewers, (Which, might I say, didn't stink as much.) I purposely mislead them down the wrong way.

"I'll be there in a second," I said. "I need to go check something real quick." Once they were in the next room fighting for their lives with Rakghouls and other monsters, I sprinted my way to where I knew the big Rancor would be. I felt my stomach lurch at the sight of a rotting corpse, and once again felt I couldn't breathe through the stench of human decay. I ran back, took a breath, and held it; coming back to the corpse. The chest of the thing was entirely ripped out, revealing an undesirable amount of rotting organs. It's left leg was gone, and the right arm had a good sized chunk ripped out of it. I felt so miserable and disgusting. The putrid smell was enough to make a person die in itself! Bug's had decided the corpse would make a good home, making me squirm and feel slightly itchy all over. I had to do this. My life depended on it.

"It's just a game," I repeated to myself over and over, forgetting I had to keep my breath held. Over by a rotting, half-covered with flesh, hand, were two vials containing sickly gray liquid. I quickly grabbed them and ran over to get more air. I came back and was about to walk in, when something shiny on the corpse caught my attention. It was a belt. I leaned as close as I would possible dare and examined it. It had a buckle, two buttons, and a bunch of writing I couldn't understand. _Well that sucks. I can't read alien? _I stared at the writing as if it would suddenly make sense. A few moments passed before I finally sighed. "I can't understand it, but I get an itching suspicion this is a stealth field generator," I said only to myself. I ran back to get some more air, yet again, then came back and unbuckled the belt. I felt like I was going to puke. Was I really going to put this thing on? The flesh it had been connected with had ripped off and stuck to the metal strap, revealing a bunch of angry bug's in it's wake. I rubbed the belt against a nearby metal pole, and got off most of the flesh. I knew I was going to puke up my guts. I just knew it.

I strapped on the belt, being sure to only make it touch clothing so as to not get flesh on my own, and pressed a button. Nothing. I pressed the other button. Nothing. I scowled at it. "I go through all that, and you end up being broken?" I asked the inatimate object. It took me a few seconds to get out of shock. What was I looking at? The belt wasn't there. _OH MY GOSH. And neither am I! _I felt excitement and shock wash over me in waves.

There's no time to waste. I have to get through all this before Revan and the gang find out I'm gone.

Then I realized something. "Kavit. I don't have a grenade!" I heaved a heavy sigh before deciding to just use what I had. I stepped through the open door, plan in mind, then felt my spine leave me.

That... That Rancor looks alot scarier than I remember.

I was paralyzed. The beast was about as big as the City Hall back home!

I closed my eyes and willed the fear away, reminding myself this wasn't real. "Just a dream," I whispered to myself. I went back and left one of the white tubes for Revan, before walking back into the huge room. I looked at the vial and tested how strong it was, then upon conclusion, took a few more steps into the room. The Rancor growled and sniffed. I felt my heart die. I quickly threw the vial as far as I could, and felt relief and triumph when the thin glass shattered some few feet away from me. The giant beast stomped both feet before sniffing, then roaring malevolently. I ran to the wall and hugged it, making my way over to the Vulkar base door, and tried not to tremble as the floor shook under the beasts heavy feet. The Rancor was on the other side of the great room, doing whatever it was doing with the broken smelly vial of liquid. I, on the other hand, was practically sprinting to the Vulkar base door.

I stopped when I passed through the first open door, the second one behind it being the entrance. There in front of me were two Vulkar members, anxiously waiting for anything to shoot and kill. _Well, they haven't shot at me yet, so I'm going to assume they haven't noticed my presence. _One of the members came closer to me and squinted. "Hey.. What's that Rancor doing, _now_?"

Uh oh. Better hurry it up.

I felt along my waistline for my blaster pistols, then, as best as I could without being able to see it, aimed for the head of the member closest to me. _I think I'll have.. Oh.. Three seconds to prepare myself?_

I pulled the trigger and didn't even look to see that I had made the shot. I crouched down first thing afterwards, then aimed for the other member, who was now frantic and cautious. I was now fearful for my life.

This wasn't like killing Rakghoul's. This opponent had and knew how to use a blaster, and was prepared to shoot at me without hesitation. An all too familiar adrenaline rush coursed through me.

I was about to shoot straight into the heart of the enemy, when he apparently spotted me. I heard a shot, and immediately after, felt tremendous pain run through my right shoulder. I cried out in pain and resisted with all my willpower holding onto it, before I shot four times with my left pistol into the chest of the Vulkar member. He crashed down into the floor with a sickening thud, leaving me to cry out in pain from my new wound.

I deliriously pressed the button to turn off the stealth field, then pawed at my pack until I came out with three medpacs. I didn't even think about the consequences as I uncapped them and injected all three at once.

Feeling the pain already lessening, I looked to my shoulder to see the damage. _Nothing serious. The bolt scathed my shoulder, that's all. _I again watched in fascination as the damage to my shoulder healed up. Then I felt something tingling in my arm. I looked, and there was my arm; all healed up. _Wow. I've got to get myself some more of these! Force. I probably sound like some medpac-addicted freak. Haha._

I stood up and brushed myself off, situating my pistols more comfortably and prepared in my hands. I felt my stomach heave at the sight of death. The first member I had killed looked like a normal human; though I suppose anyone can look like anything in this realm. I looked away painfully at the sight. I had shot right into his left eye, killing him instantaneously.

What have I become?

The words echoed through my mind, sending waves of pain throughout my entirety. _I just killed someone. I just killed someone..! What am I? _Who_ am I? I'm not myself. This place is having a negative effect on me.. I can feel it. I've been able to feel it ever since I got here._

I turned on my stealth field generator once again. The pain, guilt and sorrow that had come with killing a living soul left a scar on my heart; one that would never be healed. It left a dull headache, an aching wound that couldn't be seen, but certainly felt.

There was only one thing I could do, even though I felt like dropping to my knees and weeping.

I could only forget. _Distract myself.. So the pain doesn't seem so burdening._

I walked past the second member; a still-bleeding duros, and forced myself to look away.

It's just a game.

The four words that would protect my spirit throughout the journey's I would ever make.

I opened the door to the Vulkar base and sucked in a sharp breath of air, preparing myself for battle. With the opening of the door came a rush of cold air. The hall in front of me was empty and silent, making me inwardly shudder. I walked down the hall, being sure to hug the corridor, and used my stealthy step for an extra boost against not being caught._ For a gang base, it's really quiet._

Metal grinding against metal cut through the silence like a vibroblade. I froze and silently scanned the area. Nothing happened for a few moments, but then after a few seconds a worn-down looking tan battle droid turned around the corner; headed straight towards me, but obviously didn't know I was there according to it's normal protocol stature. I waited until it passed me and turned another corner to continue my trek through the base.

The layout of the place was alot different than the game. A heck of a lot bigger, too. It took me awhile, but I finally found what I thought I was looking for. A green Tw'ilek was headed into a room with a desk full of stacks of datapads, grumbling all the while about how Brejik placed him 'In the back'.

I walked in step close behind him, so I would be able to enter the room he was headed in quickly in case he shut the door behind him. I mean, it's one thing to suddenly appear, but it's another thing for your door to be magically opened.

He stopped about four steps away from the room he was headed to, then narrowed his eyes. I froze. I swear my eyes were as big as dinner plates. He looked to his left and scanned the area, then looked to the right and scanned the area. He looked straight at me. I swear he did. He looked me in the eye, and for a moment I really thought I was caught. Then he huffed and sulked into the room full of datapads, closing the door behind him. I barely got in, the door closed so fast. He got to his desk, then set down whatever he had been carrying. Then he came a few steps closer to me. I looked around a little bit. What the heck was he headed to?

Shink!

I didn't even have time to think. The vibroblade at his waist was out of it's sheath quicker than I could count to three. He swung it with amazing accuracy and speed straight for my head, and by instinct, I flinched. His vibroblade's cold, sharp metal met my arms, and I felt indescribable pain run through them. I knew he had hit bone. The pain ran deep, and the wound did as well. I felt my mind numb. His vibroblade was pulled out harshly, and I saw him glare at me straight in the eyes before I removed my arms from my face. Tears ran down my cheeks. "Please," I cried helplessly. What else was I supposed to do?

"Don't hurt me. I know you aren't like the others," I said those words and felt my resolve weakening. Was he really the guy I had been looking for?

Luck loves me. It really does. (Interesting words for someone who's arms just got sliced.)

He lowered his vibroblade and stared at me in cautious disbelief. _"Your just a kid," _He muttered in Tw'ileki. I nodded in agreement. "I am. But I need your help. I know what Brejik's been up to, and I know you don't like it. I was hoping I could come to you for help," Straight to the point. That's me; Miss Blunt.

He scowled at me. _"How do **you **know any of this? Where did you get your information?"_

I simply stared at him, feeling my arms drip down with blood. "A friend."

He looked at my wounds briefly then handed me a medpac from the pack at his waist. _"Here. Get those closed up with this for now. You can get yourself some Kolto later."_

I accepted it gratefully and didn't even think twice what he meant by 'Closed up'. I probably should have.

I injected it and savored the loss of pain before finally looking up to him. I knew he didn't really trust me or anything. I mean, who would? But he at least wasn't putting a vibroblade to my neck.

I explained to him how I needed to find Bastila and the such, but how I didn't know where to look except starting with him. He didn't ask why I needed to speak to the Republic soldier. I'm guessing it was a common desire.

He didn't really have a clue as to where she would be. He wasn't exactly the most 'Favored', if you know what I mean. So he wouldn't be let in on that kind of information. But he did know someone who might know someone. I know. Kind of confusing. _You know, this wasn't in the game. But I'll let it slide. This is great!_

I sighed. "So practically, what your telling me is I'll have to go on a wild goose chase,"

He looked at me, confused. Another saying this realm isn't familiar with. Sigh.

I waved my hand to shake it off. "Forget about it. So where do I go to set up a meeting with this guy?" I asked. He looked thoughtful. _"He usually spends his time in the Cantina.." _He said. He looked up and gave me an almost amused expression. _"But I wouldn't just walk up to him if I were you. He's an angry drinker and isn't very.. Bright, when intoxicated. He doesn't speak with just anyone, and considering his line of work is very stressful, I would approach him with the situation gently. He can be a bit.. short-tempered."_

I raised an eyebrow. "So.. What, I tell him you sent me?"

He shrugged nonchalantly. _"Sure. My advice, buy him a drink. At that point, depending on his mood, he probably won't care who sent you. Well, as long as your not from the Beks, of course." _

I left out the part where I kind of was.

I smiled gratefully. "You've been really kind to me. Thank you."

He nodded, though it didn't look like he was really there. He looked in thought. _"It's fine," _He said, his face slowly turning into a frown. _"I wasn't planning on staying here much longer in any case. The Vulkars aren't honorable anymore, and it's not like I can really stay here anymore now that I've sold out Kel."_

He was referring to his contact, a Quarren named Akels. The sound of a stuck-up Quarren wasn't exactly what I would think of as fondly, but what other choice did I have? ..Right?

I nodded. "Thank you, again,"

A few seconds of silence passed. All I really wanted to do right then was rush off to find 'Akels' and see if he knew anything about getting to Bastila. But it felt awkward just saying, 'Oh, thanks for the info! Hope you don't die leaving the Vulkars! Byee!'

So, instead, I just stood there and bit my lip and watched him stare at the floor. After awhile I decided to finally just force myself to say it. "Err.. Well.. I guess I'll see you around." I said.

He looked up at me and smiled sadly. _"I wish that were true."_

I felt my heart sting. _I really hope he doesn't mean what I think he means. Now is not the time for depressed thoughts! _

"Hey. Don't think that way! Thing's could get better." I tried. He looked at me with eyes that definitely screamed no hope._ "Thank you for your kind words, young one. But I don't think thing's will get better for a long time."_

Boy, was he right.

I clicked on my stealth generator and got out of there as quickly as I could. I didn't really feel like adding to the depression, you know? I mean, I actually _knew_ thing's were going to get bad, real quick.

I thankfully got myself mostly out of the base, before I saw my demise. Quite literally. Like, right in front of me.

There was Revan, Mission, and Carth, making their way through an outbreak between them and a security droid. Should I help?

I stood there for a second, just watching. They easily took out the offensive droid within seconds. _Nahh. They don't need me._

I turned to make my way out of there without them, when another six battle droids came parading down the hall towards the three. I felt a grim expression coming onto my face.

Oh, what the heck. Why not?

I got out my pistols and aimed for a droid, was about to shoot, then stopped. _Er.. Where exactly _do_ you shoot a droid? _One of the droids starting shooting and barely missed Mission's shoulder. _Uhh.. No time. I'll just shoot for his photoreceptors._

So, I did. And I missed. So I tried again. I got it on the third shot. With it's head knocked off, the rest of it went crashing to the ground. No one seemed to notice it was_ me _who took down that droid.

Geez. Droid heads are smaller than regular ones. Not to mention they're dodging me.

Why do I spend so much time thinking instead of acting? A blaster bolt knicked my right arm.

I cried out in pain and held onto the wound. "Haar'chak! Why do they always shoot there?" It hit almost in the same spot as I had been shot with the gatekeepers. I saw Mission turn towards me and stop herself in almost shooting me. Good Mish. I don't really feel like dying.

"There you are!" She cried, turning back to shooting the droids. "Where did you go? We were worried!"

I did a mixture of a scoff and a laugh. "Riight. I'm sure _all three of you_ were worried sick."

I saw Mission frown, but she didn't say anything.

"What did I tell you about your language, girl?" Revan spat over her shoulder, taking down another droid with her blades.

I rolled my eyes and searched for a medpac, hiding behind a few plasteel cylinders. I cursed again. I had apparently ran out.

The shooting behind me came to a sudden stop, and I stood up to go over to them, clutching my arm. Believe it or not, it helped the pain.

"No more running off." Revan commanded, shaking a vibroblade at me.

I set my lips into a thin line. "Why do you even care if I run off or not?"

She glared at me. "I don't." And with that, she walked off towards her next destination.

I felt a sudden need to come with them and help with any possible enemies and battles. But in the end, my willpower won over. I had to get to that Quarren. Sure, normal people wait awhile, but I'm impatient and like to rush thing's. No time like the present!

"Are you coming?" Mission asked, turning around to look at me.

I stared into her face for a minute, memorizing her features. She was so real. Maybe she was.

I didn't say anything for awhile.

She fully turned towards me and frowned. "What's wrong?"

Her voice sounded so innocent and young. But she wasn't. So why did it sound like that? I had always wondered that.

"I can't," I forced the words out. "I.. I'll meet you guy's up later. I promise." I said. Promises come cheap with me, even though I try and keep them. But this was a promise I_ knew _I would keep.

Mission looked between angry and hurt. "Your leavin' us?"

I just stared at her brokenly. "I'm sorry." I said, before turning on my stealth generator and walking towards where I knew the exit would be. I didn't hear her say anything, and didn't look back to see her reaction. I would deal with it later.

I did _not_ feel like visiting that Rancor again. So, I instead took the other way out; forgetting that there were guards there, like the other door had before I came, and also forgetting that Revan probably killed the Rancor already.

I opened the door, thinking about whether or not I should go take a shower first before meeting the Quarren, and almost got shot at while I was distracted. A blaster bolt flew by my ear, almost scathing it. I think it might have burned some of my hair, but the stealth generator didn't turn off, so I was probably just imagining thing's.

I stifled an 'Eep!' and crouched down, low enough for them to miss thinking they were getting my chest, but still tall enough that I could run. With that, I made a beeline for the Bek base.

Thankfully, I wasn't shot in the process. When I got to the entrance, seeing the chocolate-skinned door greeter was nearly enough relief to make me fall to my knees. Still running and still clutching my arm, I turned off my generator and made my way over to her, slowly reassuring myself she wouldn't kill me.

She turned towards me and quickly jumped into a battle-ready stance.

I screeched to a halt and put my hands above my head in surrender, - no easy feat with a wounded arm - and while doing so realized I was still holding my pistols.

The woman eyed me carefully.

I put my pistols back into their holsters and stared at her helplessly.

"Remember me? I came through here earlier. I'm the one you dragged in for refuge after the Vulkar attack. Ring any bells?"

Judging from her kind of confused expression, that was another saying that this universe didn't get. I inwardly sighed.

Her stance relaxed and she sheathed her swords. "Your the kid I brought in. Yes, I remember you." She drawled out the 'Yes' like Gadon does.

I forced myself not to cringe. Could these people get any creepier?

But that got me thinking. She kind of looked like him. Was she his daughter?

"I almost didn't recognize you. What the hell did you get into? Bantha dung?" I said nothing. She simply shrugged at my not-answering. "You can go in if you want. Just be wary."

I thanked her and hurried inside. When I got there, Gadon beamed at me from his desk many feet away.

"You've returned!" He cried. "But where is my accelerator?"

I stopped in my tracks, glancing at my temporary-bedroom door, then reluctantly looked over at him. "The other people you sent are going to deliver it soon," I covered off the top of my head. He frowned. "They already have it, they're just working on delivering it. I went ahead of them," I added. He looked pleased at the news they had already acquired it. I asked if I could go freshen up, and he nodded and waved me off.

I truly, honestly, couldn't wait to get into that nice shower. But first...

Hehe..

Medpacs!


	5. I don't like Quarrens

**I didn't go over this chapter, and I didn't redo it, and I didn't even check to see if it came out right! I just had a bazillion problems uploading this. Ugh. That's why it took so long to get up. Missypia: I'm glad someone likes it. :D This chapter got here only thanks to you.**  
><strong>In other news.. <strong>  
><strong>I love connecting everything. eue<strong>  
><strong>Everything is connected in here.<br>So, I've been going over it, and maybe I should have had a male Revan after all...  
>Fortherecord,Iwroteeverythingpast5,000whileIwasdrunkBD<br>*Snort* ..Bastila. Ahaha. Oh, boy! Bastila! If I could, I'd grind my bones into a fine paste and have her rub it all over her teeth and gums! Ahahahah! Sex on The Beach is Orangey! And rum burns! But it's great! Hahahah!  
>Oh, yes. The Bastila part is from a humor thing stuff shix. Look up, "KotOR abridged" On youtube. It's hilarious. Hehehehehehehe... Blowjob is pretty good too. But I'm not a real choclate person when it comes to alcohol... Blackberry wine is best. But totally not strong enough. Am I ranting about alcohol? Ahahaahha ignore me just read the damnggedd thing xD<br>-Day later- Okay, now that I'm NOT drunk... This chapter is a little short. Sorry, guy's.  
>Geez. All the earlier chapters are just like mashed together in a billion ginormous paragraphs. Sigh. Oh well. I'm too lazy to go back and fix it.<br>Did anyone else noticed that "Damnggedd thing" Looks like it say's "Damaged thing" ?**

**Ah, yes. And to the user named: Lieutenant Paladine. Why, I hadn't noticed I only uploaded a single sentence! Thank you, Captain Obvious! Yeah, no. I'm not really that mean. Sorry. Yes, it was supposed to be like that. Thank you for reading. :P**

* * *

><p>Chapter 5: I don't like Quarrens.<p>

Ahhhh. I can't tell you how great it is to have a shower after getting a bunch of Rhak-Goo plastered all over your skin. Then again, I guess you'd never believe me, either; now would you?

Anyway, I took a shower in that nice one they have, and then went to prepare for the trip to go see the Quarren. Which, made me think. Would I even know what he looked like? I mean, in the game all the Quarren's looked the same. I was pretty sure they'd look the same in real life.

... Right?

Well, this complicates thing's.

Sigh. Oh well.

I went back to my trusty old footlocker and looked around for more medpacs.

When I had gotten back to my temporary home, I had snatched a few and injected them and then went to take a shower. That didn't give me enough time to check if there were more in there.

So, that's what I was doing now.

I looked around for more medpacs, and didn't find any. So I scratched through every article of item that was in there to make sure I hadn't missed anything. You know how many I found? Two. That's not even enough to heal a papercut!

Okay, maybe that exaggeration came from my medpac-fascinated side. But let's be serious here.

..It wasn't enough to heal a papercut!

I frowned at the medpacs, but shoved them into my dirty little bag anyway. Then I actually looked in my bag.

"Geesh. Look at all those stimulants! I don't think I've even used _one_." That didn't come out right. I was going to say Gosh, then thought I'd instead say Sheesh, and it ended up in a mixture of the two.

Then, I had an epiphany.

What do these Stimulants even DO, anyway? I never used them in the game.

I picked a random one out of my bag, not looking to see what kind it was(I should have.), and uncapped the thing and injected it.  
>A waited a few seconds.<p>

Nothing.

I huffed. "Well that was useless."

I re-capped the stim and threw it someplace then stood up and headed over to my bed. The moment I sat down, I wished I hadn't. I realized how tired I truly was and wanted nothing more than to sleep.

_Maybe just a nap,_ I thought.

I laid down and removed my pack from me, then got comfortable. I didn't bother to put the covers on. I was far too tired to do so.

Probably three minutes passed, and I realized that I wasn't falling asleep. Yes, I was tired. Ohhh boy was I tired. But I just couldn't sleep. It was like the longer I laid down and rested, the more I felt energized.

_Curse you insomnia. Curse you!_

I sat up again and glared at my bag, as if my restlessness was it's fault.

Finally, after a few moments, I decided to just get up and go do business. My clothes were damp because I had washed them, but that was fine. As long as I was still _wearing_ clothes, right?

I popped on my shoes and slung my bag over my shoulder, ready to go. I was so glad that I always wear wristbands, because I like to put my hair up when it's wet.

I clipped on my holsters and blaster pistols, got my rifle over my shoulder, and I was out the door. Gadon wasn't at his desk(Which means Zaerdra wasn't either. She was with him.), so he didn't see me leave. And honestly, I doubt any passerby's would care.

I didn't run into any trouble along the way to the Cantina, thankfully. I stopped by the door to catch a longer look at the bouncer. I always had a certain amount of respect for him, you know? I mean, how many bouncers can calmly say, "You can't be here on duty. So come back later. Ohoho!" And still look cute? Not many. Though, in real life, he didn't look quite as cute. He looked more grotesque and buggish than in the game. But, I suppose if you look at him without looking at him... He's still cute!  
>I flashed him my best smile and made my way into the Cantina, looking out for any Quarren's.<p>

And you know what I found? Nadda.

I sighed. Stupid Quarren. Shouldn't you be drinking right now?

So, I did what any other person trapped in a video game would do. I went up to the counter and asked for a juma juice. And guess what? They didn't ask me how old I was. But you know what else? I forgot I had no credits.

Now, I know your all wondering that little question. What did the Juma Juice taste like? It tasted like.. Well, it kind of tasted like blackberry wine but without very much blackberry. It wasn't very strong, if that's what your wondering.

Only AFTER I saw the Quarren walk in, and AFTER I was done drinking down the Juma, did I finally realize I had no credits. I looked back at the bartender who was eyeing me carefully and polishing(Or cleaning. Hopefully polishing by the looks of the wax-y stuff on it. At least.. I hope that was wax..) something or other. Probably a dish or something.  
>Actually, now that I think of it.. Do you even pay for stuff in the cantina? Oh. Wait. Yeah, you do. I remember one time in KotOR 2 I actually did pay for Juma juice.<p>

Crap.

I knew I had to pay for it. Of course I did. There was no ignoring it. But my eyes were glued to the Quarren walking in the room. He sat down and ordered, in his native language, for some tarisian ale. I quirked an eyebrow. _I thought aliens and all those other species didn't like drinking. I thought they liked those gasic fumes or something or other. Well, whatever._

I made my way over to sit by him, and he eyed me carelessly.

_"What do you want, Cantina rat?"_ He spat.

I tried my best not to glare at him. I really, really, did. _What a greeting. Hmph! Shabuir._

In case you didn't know, that's another Mando'a word. (A nasty insult, mind you.)

In any case, I made myself comfortable; though unwillingly hunching as if that would make the barkeeper forget I still owed him.

"I want your information, Quarren," I said. At this he gave me a cautious glance and looked at me like I was still covered in Rhakgoo.

_"Information?" _He asked. I inwardly wondered if this was the one I was looking for.

"Yeah, depending on who you might be. Are you Akels?" I asked.

I think he might've smiled, but I couldn't tell. His tentacles on his face did like this weird twitching thing and his eyes looked amused.

_"No, I'm not,"_ He said.

I frowned at him. _I held in an insult for THIS? _

_"But I am, however, his cousin."_

_Oooh! Good thing I didn't blurt out the insult I had been conjuring up..._

I sat up a little straighter. My back was starting to hurt from leaning over for so long. I'm a model, and model's have to have good posture. After awhile it becomes habit, and habit becomes life. So therefore, I can't lean over very long and NOT have back issues.

"So do you know where I could find him?" I asked.

He raised a non-existant eyebrow_. "He wasn't in the pazaak den?"_

I felt myself make that face again. :|

Why, you ask? Because I hadn't looked there. My mom always DID say I never looked hard enough..

I was about to say something when my attention was caught by a crashing sound to the right, followed by a mad female stomping out of a hallway, cursing in Tw'ileki. A man came running out behind her, hands held up in desperation. "Nadaa! You can't quit!" He growled. The blond woman turned around, fire in her eyes. "Oh? Try and stop me." She spat. "I'm done dancing for you and your filthy men."

The man behind her scowled. "And where will you get the money to pay for your daughter?" He asked tauntingly. "Adana, isn't it? A young girl like her will be sold into the slavery the moment you walk out of here!"

The blonde didn't seem phased. "I won't_ be _here to let that happen, bantha breath. I'm leaving this planet, once and for all!"

The man just sneered.

After the blond left, there was a long silence between me and Akels' cousin. It felt like a lifetime, but finally after awhile, I asked,

"Er... Is he usually there?" He raised a non-existent eyebrow. "In the pazaak den, I mean?" Again, the amusement and the waving of the tentacles. _"Of course. He's a wild better when intoxicated. How he keeps his money I'll never know."_

Well, whatevs. This works in with my plans, anyway. If I play pazaak and win some money, I'll be able to pay for the Juma I took.

But you know what_ ELSE _I forgot? I didn't have any cards.

I looked at the ale he now had in his hand. "So why do you drink that? I thought you Quarrens didn't drink like us humans."

He made a garbling sound that I assumed probably would have been a huff. _"When your raised on Taris, human, you learn not to care what piece of relaxation you get; as long as you get it."_

The answer just raised another question. "You were raised on Taris?"

He looked at me as if I were the dumbest person alive. _"Of course." _He took a swig of ale.

The bartender had turned away to do something or other, and seeing how we were probably done with our little conversation anyway, I slipped underneath the eyesight of the counter and crawled my way to the pazaak den.

Lo and behold, there he was.

"You little cheat!" A pazaak player from across the way next to Akels cried. "There's no way you could have won that hand!"

The quarren sitting at the table seemed to be taking the man's explosion quite casually. He leaned back and sipped at his drink while carelessly watching the man yell.  
>"You won't get away with this, you scum," He snarled. "I'll see to it that Davik's men come after you and tear you limb from limb!"<p>

Still, the Quarren remained nonchalant about the situation._ "Let them come,"_ He said, swinging his cup of (Probably) alcohol around carelessly. _"I am eager to meet his men, in any case. He is no match for the Vulkars, human."_

The outraged man scowled malevolently at Akels before his eyes landed on me. I looked away real quick in a poor attempt to hide my gawking, and in doing so, realized that I was the only other person besides him standing; but also realized I was the only one watching the scene go on.

_Must happen alot, or someone would stop this madness._

I looked back at the man and gave a tight apologetic smile, as if that would somehow make the situation better.

He glared into my eyes, and I swear it felt like he was burning holes through them. I grimaced, but walked up to the two anyway.

"Anything I can help with, here?" I asked good-naturedly.

The pazaak man (My new nickname for him.) scowled at me. "Get lost, kid. I don't need your help."

I narrowed my eyes at him in annoyance. "I wasn't offering to help _you, _Shabuir."

He glanced at the Quarren.

_"You see? Even your own kind rebels against you."_ Akels snorted.

The raging pazaak man must have finally snapped, because he looked back at me with a psychotic expression that read, 'I'll kill you!'

The next thing I knew, he had his big meaty hands around my neck and was choking the life out of me.

Well. I didn't feel like dying.

I reached for my pistols, ignoring the instinct to reach and grab at his hands, and stuck both of them at his chest.

He gave no reaction.

If it had been an appropriate time to inwardly frown, I so would have.

I placed my 'special' blaster to his shoulder and squeezed the trigger. His hands let go immediately and he stumbled back, scratching at his wound like some kind of animal.  
>If there wasn't a crowd before, there was now.<p>

I put my pistols back into their holsters and huffed and threw my hands up in the air, exasperated. "You've got to be _kidding_ me! How is it _I _draw a crowd?"

My cries were ignored, and instead the man I had shot looked back at me with crazy eyes and a malicious grin. "They're coming for you _now_, _sweetheart_,"

I looked at him in a little bit of fear and inwardly shivered. The way he used that nickname made me want to revert back to my ways of no self-control or training, and instead want to run as far away from the madman as I could.

I felt both my arms be grabbed harshly by two hands much larger than my own, and immediately struggled to look at who - or what - had me.

I felt only a small amount of comfort in knowing that it was the Cantina outbreak guard.

"He attacked me!" I jumped to defend myself. "I only did what I had to, to break free!" The guard looked at the pazaak madman and then returned his gaze to me, never speaking. "If I had wanted him dead, then he would be dead! Can't you see I was only protecting myself?" The guard didn't let go of my arms. It was then, I decided, that I needed to turn on the waterworks.

A few stray tears made their way to my eyes. "Please! You have to believe me! I was only trying to help this kind Quarren, here," I gestured to Akels. He made no action to stop my story. "And then this... This... Lunatic, decided to take matters into his own hands!"

I knew I scored brownie points. Why? Because the guard holding my arms was an alien. And evvveryone knows about the racism on Taris.  
>The guard's hold loosened.<p>

"I'll show you who the lunatic is, shutta!" The pazaak madman screeched. The guard holding my arms completely let go and instead made his way to prevent the maddened pazaak player from doing anymore damage.

I quickly moved out of the way for the guard to take the man away from there.

"You haven't seen the last from me! From any of you!" His yells no longer held any posing threat.

I went and sat across from Akels, making myself comfortable but making sure I could still dash and run if the situation called for it.

The Quarren looked me down from the other side of the table, but said nothing.

"So.. Are you Akels?" I asked.

He took another sip of whatever was in his cup. _"It depends on who's asking,"_

I didn't even have the flippance left in me to smirk in triumph. "Just a kid who wants to find a friend." I said.

He looked me over, then made a weird noise which I think was probably a sigh. _"What do you want, human?"_

I leaned a little closer, ending up with half my torso over the table. "I'm sure you've heard all about Bastila, right? The Republic soldier everyone's buzzing about,"  
>I heard him mutter something about 'human slang', but didn't bother to make sense of it.<p>

"Well, she's a friend of mine."

He didn't look surprised_. "Let me guess. You want to 'meet' her, correct?"_

I shook my head, and at this, he looked a little more interested. "Not at all. I simply want to exchange a few words with her, is all. An aquaintance of mine told me you could help."

The former interest he held was gone. _"Bah. You and your human 'aquaintances'. Leave me be."_

I frowned. "But my aquaintance wasn't human, Akels. He was a Tw'ilek with the Vulkars, like you. Well, minus the Tw'ilek part," Akels seemed to be searching his memory for anyone like that. I decided to just continue. "All I need is a few minutes to speak with her. I don't even need to get very close. You can even have guards in there with me! I don't care. I just need to speak with her."

He seemed to be contemplating what to do or say. After a few minutes, which felt like a lifetime, he finally said, _"Perhaps I could set up a meeting for you two... Depending on how badly you want it."_

_Oh boy. I don't like the sound of that._

_"How much are you willing to pay for it?"_ He asked. I set my lips into a thin line. Pay? I didn't even have enough to cover the Juma I had drank.

"How about over a game of pazaak?" I tried, using my best bartering voice.

He garbled, but by his body movements I could tell he was laughing. _"You play a dangerous game, human! What will you give me when you lose?"  
><em>

I frowned again at him. _Who said I was _going _to lose!_

"I have... Other abilities that I could put on the line," I suggested. He frowned curiously at me_. "Other abilities?"_

"Well... Yes," I answered hesitantly. Maybe my idea wasn't such a good one after all. "I can dance for you, if.. I mean.."

He seemed to really be trying not to roll his eyes._ "I do not care for your human features, young one. I want credits, not eyesores."_

I huffed. _Such a polite guy._

"What do you expect me to do, then? I don't have any credits for you." Maybe I sounded too innocent, naive, or even stupid, because he seemed surprised at how easily I was deciding to handle the situation.

_"If you truly have 'abilities', then you will find somewhere to earn credits with them. Until then, I don't want to see your human face again until you have the credits to bet with."_  
>I scowled. "If I have the credits, why would I bet?"<p>

He did a Quarren snort as if it were obvious. _"So I would get a better deal."_

I looked at him as if to say, 'Douche.'

"How much credits are you asking for?" I asked.

He looked at me smugly_. "1200."_

I think I felt my soul leave me.

"Your kidding me, right?" I asked unbelievingly. "How about 800 instead?" He frowned, but seemed to realize I wasn't as stupid as I looked.(Through _his _eyes, anyway.)  
><em>"Meeting's like this don't come cheap, human. 900. No less."<em>

I narrowed my eyes at him in annoyance, but finally managed, "Deal."

He finished his drink in one giant gulp, then slammed the cup onto the table. _"You know where to find me."_

Great.

I got up and stalked my way through the smoke-filled air, keeping a good distance away from the bar in hopes I would find a way to leave without paying. With all my thoughts fresh from the conversation, I didn't realize or take notice that the Quarren didn't even ask my name.

_Well, that went well. Now I need to actually FIND A FRACKING JOB!_

Have I ever told you that luck seems to love me?

In my torpor, I ran into a Tw'ilek. A green Tw'ilek. A slightly annoyed green Tw'ilek. (Green seems to be the popular skin color, no?)

"Sorry." I muttered. He waved me off, and I was about to walk past him, when I saw the source of his irritation. 'That shouldn't be enough to catch your attention', you think. But your wrong.

_"Lyn, I've told you time and time again... You dance fine, but you need a partner."_ The green Tw'ilek sighed.

I think my mouth seriously gaped open for another twelve seconds before I finally found my brain and shut it.

_"Bib, please! I can find a partner! I can! I-"_

The yellow Tw'ilek quit her frantic babbling and finally turned her attention over to me, desperation clearly evident in her eyes and expression. A faint flicker of a smile lit up on her face and then she glanced back to the green Tw'ilek named Bib. _"There! You see? Here is my partner!" _She cried, dragging me by the arm closer to her. Bib seemed unimpressed. He crossed his arms and sighed, shaking his head slightly. _"Make it quick, Lyn. I don't have time for anything but the real deal."_

Lyn nodded her head, eyes wide, and gulped before turning her attention once more back to me._ "I need your help, human," _She whispered frantically, taking me a few steps away from the weary green Tw'ilek. I just watched her, trying to listen but partially lost in my own thoughts.

_I always ruined her audition. Haha!_

_"...They're really simple! Anyone could do them!" _She convinced. As if to prove a point, she did a couple 'moves' to show me. Let's put it this way. 'Simple' is a gross understatement.

_"You see? Now will you help me?" _

She was almost _too_ desperate._ I never recalled her being like this in the game.. _

"Uh.. Sure. But won't more.. I don't know_.. Complex_ moves impress this 'Bib' guy?" I asked. She looked at me as if I had grown another head._ "Of course they will. I'm not _stupid, _you know,"_

Could have fooled me.

"So why aren't we going to _do_them?" I asked slowly, as if talking to a three-year-old. (Get your mind out of the gutter. I know what you were thinking when I stressed 'do'.)

She looked me over, then gave me a totally NOT desperate expression. One that those preppy 'popular' girls in elementary school give you when they're about to say, 'I'm better than you!'

_"You are _human," She scoffed, as if it's meaning were totally obvious. _"You cannot dance like me! From the looks of you, you haven't even danced one day in your life!"_

I gave her the expression I usually give people that are like her. I looked down on her. "I see. Well, this human is willing to offer her... inexplicably horrible human services.. so you can get past this audition." I told her calmly.

She looked at me cautiously, knowing there was something behind my words, but from an impatient rushing word from Bib, ignored her instincts and decided to just get on with it. _"Then follow my lead." _She ordered.

_Boy is she lucky I'm actually a dancer. If she had said that to anyone else that hadn't experience, there's probably alot of people who would have been confused. 'What? Follow your lead? What do you mean by that?' _To be honest, I didn't know either. But I wasn't going to follow her lead. So it didn't matter.

She started with a few steps that were terrifyingly simple, and I semi-copied her with a mixture of belly-dance steps.

I knew I had already won. 'Why?', you ask? Bib wasn't looking at her. He was looking at _me_.

She stopped dancing her first tier and put her hands on her hips. _"What are you doing?" _She demanded. _"Your trying to upstage me!" _She scowled. I threw my hands up in defense. "Hey, don't look at _me_, sweetheart. I'm just 'following your lead'."

She wasn't convinced_. "Forget you. I'll find some other partner."_

I looked down at her again. "Look, honey," I began. She snarled at me.(Which was kind of interesting, coming from a Tw'ilek..) "If your really trying to get into the showbiz, your doing a horrible job at it. If your feeling endangered by some random person off the street, I can't fathom how you'll feel when you get up next to the professional's."

She glared at me, but I could tell she knew I was right.

_"Your_ the one who asked _me_ to help you. So don't complain."

She turned her eyes to Bib, who was again telling her to hurry it up. She turned back to me and narrowed her eyes. _"Fine. But I'm not going easy anymore."_

So be it.

She was right when she said that. I had to continually keep my eyes on her to do what she did, but I knew if I had practice in the specific dance we were doing, I would have been fine. I think I did pretty good for someone just watching and copying. Sure, I messed up a couple times... maybe a little more than a couple... But I covered it up all the same with different moves.

Within only a few minutes, I had made an enemy, and aquaintance, a frienemy, and had started a dancing war.

The simple and innocent 'lending a hand' act I was doing for Lyn was no longer just that. It was a silent war to see who was better; who could catch the most eyes, who could move the most smoothly.

_"Enough."_ Bib commanded. Lyn stopped, and I followed her example. _"I've seen all I need to,"_ He said, seemingly exasperated. Lyn looked up at him fearfully, desperation and anticipation overflowing through her expression. _"You dance fine, Lyn," _He said, with the same boredness and dull disappointment in his voice as he had the first time he said those words. _"But I just don't think your ready to work with us quite yet. You need to learn how to dance with a partner."_

He turned to me. _"And you," _He broke off for a split-second, as if thinking how to properly word his sentence_. "You just need a better partner." _

I had a short glimpse of hope that he would up and say, 'Hey! Wanna join us at our business? You'll get paid and be able to talk to Bastila!' but that was killed when he left directly after telling me my part.

Lyn balled her fists and glared at me.

Oh, if looks could kill.

_"You've ruined my life!"_ She cried, before running after the retreating form of Bib.

I sighed and lifted my face to the cement ceiling of the smoky Cantina. "Now what?"

I just decided to ignore the misfortune and wild turn of events and instead focus on getting the heck out of there and finding a job Ad or something. _Do they even have newspapers in this dimension?_

I was walking towards the door, when a million realizations hit me. The first one being that Revan was probably somewhere on her way back from getting the accelerator, and that meant I only had a matter of hours to get the money, make the deal, and talk to Bastila and persuade her. That one scared me. The second realization was that I might have known how to get the money all along... Except the way I was thinking was a darker method that I would never have thought up, without a good reason. Just more proof that there was something happening to me. Something, I could feel, was poisoning my heart; and perhaps my very soul. In case you didn't catch on yet, I was thinking of becoming an unofficial bounty hunter. But then, there was that third realization. There weren't enough bounties to collect that would fully pay for what price the Quarren wanted, and I doubt an 'eighteen' year-old kid would be able to persuade him to raise the price. I could try, but it might ruin my chances at all with getting money from that Hutt...  
>The fourth realization was that there was another 'nuther way to get the credits. I could probably go to the battle ring in the Upper City and earn some creds, but then that leads us to my fifth realization. How would I get back down to the Lower City? I didn't have a suit OR papers. And I seriously doubt they would just let me pass simply because I <em>came<em>from the Lower City.

And this, of course, takes us to my sixth realization. Gadon could probably help me out with all this.

While I was having this great epiphany, I failed to notice a chubby man that came to stand in front of me. Only when I came out of my stupor and saw he wasn't moving after about a minute, did I realize(Realization number seven!) he wanted my attention.

"Er.. Can I help you?" I asked. Then, yet again, another realization hit me. Well... Maybe I'm just getting too realization-happy. Because it wasn't really a realization, but more of an acknowledgment. This was the man from earlier, who had been calling after that blonde chick.

"Yes," He frowned. "I would like to hire you."

I think my heart stopped beating, like no joke, right there. Maybe my jaw dropped, maybe my eyes widened, maybe I stared at him incredulously. I don't know. I sort of blacked out right there. But, since I later got the job, I'm assuming it went something like this:  
>"You see, that blonde chick just quit on us, and we need a new dancer. I saw you dancing with that poorly-dressed Tw'ilek snob, and was going to hire her, but she left without a word. So then I saw you, and I decided to hire you instead! Since I know you need money to meet Bastila and help save the galaxy, you should totally take this job! Oh, yes, and family discounts on liquor."<p>

And then I said, "Haran lek!" Then realized, 'family discounts?'

Which, now that I think of it, may not be how it happened at all...

Well... It went _something_ like that.

So, in any case, I got offered a low-pay job to dance at the Cantina. Which, is pretty unfair, I realized, when I actually started working. We had to dance ALL freakin' day! For low-pay! Ignore the rhyming! But, despite all that, I accepted(Of course.).

But there was a flaw in the plan. I wouldn't be able to get enough credits with just that. I would have to work harder.

Sigh. I hate working.

In any case, after I had done whatever I did to get the job, he left, and I was standing there; in the middle of the entrance/exit room. When I finally came to my senses, a grin broke out across my face, and I left the Cantina with a bit of a spring in my step.

Now, to head to Gadon.

When I got back to the Vulkar base, Revan and the gang were there. I froze in some fear I hadn't known I'd been possessing, then scolded myself for fearing over nothing. And yet, there was still that feeling of something bad happening..

"You!"

Ah. There it was.

Revan turned away from Gadon and the rest of them and stomped over to me. She stopped about a half a foot's distance away from me, then grabbed the top of my shirt and pulled me up to her face. Which, for me, wasn't a pleasant experience; seeing as how that exposed my stomach.

"You think it's funny to leave us?" She spat. I honestly think I got some of her saliva on my face. Gross.

"Why do you even care?" I asked. Really, I wanted to know. She'd been showing alot of care.

Her expression never lost it's hardened look. "Because I'm not a rookie," She said, with some unknown respect for something bubbling underneath her words. "I fulfill my tasks and take care of my responsibilities, and _you_ are my responsibility."

I think some level of understanding opened up just then, because I lost all frustration and felt a calm wash over me. It was weird.

She was just doing this because Gadon had told her to.

"Last I checked, I was supposed to be watching _you_," I said. "I'm the 'tabs' keeper, remember?"

She sighed exasperatedly and threw me out of her fist, leaving me to take a few steps back from the momentum she left. She turned away, shaking her head and muttering something I didn't quite catch, and I pulled my shirt back to where it belonged.

"So, anyways," Gadon from a few yards away, said. "Like I was saying. Tomorrow you will ride in the swoop race. Go ahead and enjoy the base until nightfall."  
>I walked over to the rest of the group. "Nightfall? What time is it?" It felt like 'Nightfall' al<em>ready<em>.

"0600 hours," Revan huffed from a few feet away from me, arms crossed.

If she used military time to try and confuse me, it wasn't working. Military family? Hello?

"Oh, wow. It's... way earlier than I thought it was." _No wonder I was so tired. But that doesn't explain why I feel so energetic _now.

Then it clicked.

_The stimulant! It_ did _do something! Oh, Force.. Now I really wish I would have paid attention to the label. Besides this new relevation, though.. It's good it's this early. It gives me more time to get to Bastila._

"Hey, Gadon," I started. He, along with a few other choice people standing around that area, looked at me. "Do you have some armour I could borrow? Like... Blasterproof armour?" I asked.

Silence. Tense, tense, silence.

I stood there awkwardly and just looked around a little. You know what I noticed? Everyone had the same look on their faces. Utter disbelief.

So I just stood there, suddenly thinking that flipping on the stealth generator wouldn't be such a bad idea right now.

But instead of doing what any sensible person would do, I stupidly asked, "What?"

More silence. More tension. More unbelieving stares.

"Your kidding me, right?" Gadon asked after about twenty seconds after the one-word question had been asked.

I looked at him in pure confusion. "Uhh... No?"

He simply stood there with the same look on his face. I simply stood there, feeling the growing feeling of 'I think I just did something really really stupid without knowing it'.

"Will someone please explain to me what I did wrong?" I asked incredulously. As glad as I was someone answered, I wasn't so pleased to see who it was who did the answering.

"There's no such thing as 'Blasterproof' armor, kid." Revan frowned. I looked around, and as I did, I shrunk.

"Oh." I said, after a full scan of everyone's faces. "Well," I stood straighter and put on a pouting face(Involuntarily, of course. It happens by instinct. Or whatever you call that, that makes a pout sprout. Aha! Pout sprout senses.).

"How was I supposed to know?" I waved with my hands to further prove my point. "On my home planet, we_ do _have blasterproof armor!"

Something passed over Revan's face that I couldn't quite place. I don't know what it was, but I think it was quite significant for the future.

Gadon looked amazingly interested now. "They do, do they?" He asked. _Oh, boy. I don't like the look on his face_.

Gadon's lips curled up into a horrible failed suppressed grin. "All the more reason to talk to you later. But for now," He raised an eyebrow, grin gone and replaced with curiosity. "Why don't you tell us why you want some armor?"

I looked at him with a mixture of gratitude that he had changed the subject, and a growing dread that he was going to talk to me later about something I didn't want to talk about.

"Well, I needed some armor for the bounties I'm going to collect."


	6. Diplomacy

**Yes. I finally updated. Can you believe it? I'm NOT dead! Gasp! 8U**

**SUPERBOWL SUNDAAAAYYYY! WOOOHOOO! Ahem. Yeah. I'm not telling you my favourite team. If I did, there would be people who disagree with me and take it to an extreme; thus I would get hatemail flames. C:  
><strong>

* * *

><p>Chapter 6: Diplomacy<p>

I think I cringed. Why? Revan looked at me with a viciousness I didn't know possible for a human being to wield.

"The _what_?" She snarled.

I looked up at her, then decided that wasn't the best thing to do. Because I knew I looked like a child scared half to death. Which, from a certain point of view, I was.

I looked back to Gadon, who was just sitting there listening. "Bounties," I repeated.

To my overflowing relief, Gadon held up a hand to keep Revan from spitting anything else at me. (It's a type of irony, isn't it. One measly gang Lord holding up a hand to stop a - though former - Sith Lord. If he only knew.)

"I don't think I even want to know why you would want to collect bounties," He said. I just stared at him. To be honest, I didn't really care whether or not anyone wanted to know. I just wanted to see if he was going to give me armour or not. (Americans spell 'Armor' with no 'u', but I spell the European way. Yeah, I'm weird. It happens.)

Gadon looked like he was thinking thing's over.

"I can get you some regular armor. The most we have against blasters, though, are heat resistant chest plates. When do you need it?" He asked. I looked at him with as much seriousness as I could muster. "Right now." I said. He frowned at me. I waited. Probably about thirty seconds later of our staring contest, he sighed and nodded. "Alright. Zaerdra," He commanded. She looked at him like a Soldier would to their Commanding Officer.(Only, she didn't salute.) It was kind of funny, actually. I know. There's that weird sense of humor again. "Take her to the armoury and see if she can get fitted."

My heart was fluttering all over the place. _Gadon's so nice._

I took only one giant step toward the purple-ish Tw'ilek, then stopped and turned towards him. _Yeah. He_ is _nice. But why?_

I frowned. He waited. (Role reversal!)

"Why are you helping me so much?" I asked. He smirked. "Maybe I just want to be courteous."

I frowned deeper. "No one _ever _wants to be courteous. Not without a reason."

His smirk turned slightly sadistic. "Your right." He said simply. "But we'll discuss 'Why', later." He cracked a grin. "I think we've already been over this."

Oh boy.

My feet didn't want to move. My entire body was completely devoured in dread. But, however.. Zaerdra nudged me along and I came with her to the armoury, anyway.

It was a long, boring trip to the Armoury. (Okay, maybe it was a short, boring trip. But I'm not known for my patience.) So when we got there, it was even more delightful. There were all kinds of chest plates, and thigh plates(Or maybe they go by a different name.. I'm not sure. I'm not a blacksmither. Eh... Or whatever they call it.) and weapon's and all different sorts of thing's.

I took one step... And fell flat on my face.

'What the-?' your thinking, right? Well, I don't know if you remember, but earlier in my story I used alot of medpacs. I also don't know if you remember, but I also said I should have asked what the green Tw'ilek meant when he spoke about them. All thing's are relevant. Only, special you, you didn't go through all this and learn thing's the hard way like I had to.

I fell because I felt such a ginormous wave of pain wash over me all of a sudden, out of nowhere. Literally just out of the black.

The pain hovered over where my shoulder had been shot, where the Rhakghoul had attacked it, where a blaster bolt scathed over it, and a more dull pain on my head where the gash had been. In other words, pretty much anywhere and everywhere I had been hurt, well... Hurt.

But that was all of very little importance to me.

Why? Because I couldn't breathe.

I was frantic. My throat hurt, my limbs were close to immobile... This was definitely the end.

..But who kills off the main character for good when it's only the beginning? Maybe the middle or something, but... I mean... Come on.

So I kept signing over and over, 'Help!' with my hands. (That didn't make my shoulder/arm condition better.)

Zaerdra didn't get the meaning, apparently. But boy am I glad she understood, 'I can't breathe!' frantic-ness. She whipped something out from a nearby pocket from her endless bodyguard supplies and injected it into my neck.

Boy. I don't know what was in whatever she injected, but it HURT!

It was like my throat was popped back into place or something. Yes, that makes no sense, but that's the only way I can explain it.

The pain in my entire body still hurt like heck, though. I felt like I had just got done doing Yoga, being in a four-hour ballet pointe session, a two-hour tapping maniac class, and just got done doing a daily workout/martial arts training session with my Dad.

In short, I HURT!

I groaned real unlady-like and rolled onto my back. I was going to ask Zaerdra what the matter was, but my muscles didn't want to work to form the words.

So I tried eyeing the answers out of her.

Let me just say, that didn't work. At all.

She looked at me like I was dying. Which, I probably was.

"What the hell have you been doing, kid?" She frowned. Only, it wasn't like her normal frown. It didn't have that sincere gruff appearance. It was.. Well, softer. But still pretty Zaerdra-ish. If that makes sense.

In any case, since I couldn't answer her, I tried my best to telepathically burn my thoughts into her head. _Well, I've been transferred into a dimension that doesn't exist, etching horrible images of death and gore into my head because of my stupid photographic memory, I've been going without sleep for what feels like forever, I've also been getting Rhakghoul blood painted ALL. OVER. ME, I've been in my worst nightmare(The sewers!), killed two sentients, probably almost got killed by a ginormous Rancor, snuck through the Bek Base, made a partial deal with a stuck-up Quarren, and got a job at the Cantina as a dancer. By the way, none of this exists. None of it. Neither do you._

Needless to say, my telepathic powers seemed to be failing me that day. Hey, I just rhymed!

Zaerdra shook her head and scowled at me. (Something that seems to be common in this dimension.)

"You look like you've gotten run and rerun over and over again by an angry Reek, then tried to heal yourself with a million medpacs." She stated.

I looked at her as if to say, 'What do you mean? Medpacs don't heal?'

Zaerdra's eyes suddenly widened. "Wait a second," She said quickly, "You didn't know, did you? I bet that was it. You overdosed on Medpacs, but didn't try to heal the damage."

My expression pretty much read, 'What the heck is she talkin' about?'

About the same moment I thought that, I felt my muscles beginning to regain their movement. I used this to my advantage. "What the heck are you talkin' about?"

Oh, yes. I have such a way with words.

"Well at least the Kolto is kicking in," I heard her mutter. "What do you mean what am I talking about?" She asked.

I tried sitting up, but it ended up being more like a fish-out-of-water act than anything. Honestly. Have you ever seen a fish struggling to get to water? They flop all over the place!

So, I stopped struggling and just relaxed. "Medpacs don't heal?"

Silence.

Zaerdra looked at me like I had to be the stupidest person to ever live in the entire history of people who have ever lived. "No. Medpacs are a pain reliever and a wound closer. They don't heal, and they don't last long. That's why once you get that thing injected, you better be looking around for a Kolto pack."

I groaned and tried to bang my head against the floor. (Which, might I add, was very dirty. To this day the thought of it makes my face scrunch up in disgust.)

_I should have known. Of course there would be flaws in the perfect thing called a Medpac. There had to be. I'm such a fool for not thinking thing's through._

But it's not like it mattered now. I still had other thing's to do.

"Do you have any idea," I said slowly, because my tongue seemed to want to loll around, "Where I can get 800 credits fast?"

She looked at me weirdly.

_You know, I'm beginning to think I'll never get a normal look around here._

"What the hell would you need 800 credits for?" She asked. Before I got the chance to answer, her eyes went wide and she looked at me like I was poisonous. "Your not on spice, are you?"

I laughed dryly at this. "No."

She seemed to relax a little, but still looked wary.

"I need 800 credits because I need to meet a friend. She's not in a very good situation right now, to say the least." I explained. _Why _I explained, I'll never know. I blame it on the medpacs. Because apparently, they're not good for the body. So they must cause brain damage, too. Though, it might have been my lack of sleep...

..Nah.

"Who isn't?" She mumbled, "Well, you could collect on bounties. But that can get messy." She offered. I groaned. "Yeah, I already thought of that. Everyone's telling me it's not a good idea."

Zaerdra shrugged. "Well, in your condition, it's not."

I sighed and frowned the best I could up at her. "Then what do you suggest I do?" I asked.

She looked thoughtful for a moment. "Well," She said, looking at me again. (She had been zoning out while thinking.) "I would take away the need for credits. I mean, who's giving you this deal, anyway? Everyone knows there's no real way to make fast creds on Taris."

_Pff. I didn't._

"I guess that's a sound plan. Can you give me a stimulant or something? I need to get on my feet. I only have until tomorrow to meet my friend." I told her. Much to my great thankfulness, she did. Why she was suddenly being so nice, I don't know. Maybe she took pity on me. Pity or no pity, I was thankful for the help.

From there on, I just decided I wouldn't wear armour. It would be fine, right? I mean, if I died, at least I would know if this was a dream or not.

So, I took her advice. I made sure I had all my weapons, tromped back to the Cantina and even made sure I didn't get seen by the bartender. Once I was back in the pazaak room, I found that my stuck-up Quarren was no longer there. Panic fired up in my chest, but I still had hope. I scanned the room in search of him and almost missed him walking out of a back door.

I speedwalked my way over to him, but when I was outside to wherever he went, I stifled a gasp and stepped backwards into the dark shadows.

It looked like he had led me into an alleyway of some sort. But, I mean, that could have been my Earth mind talking. But still. It looked like an alleyway.  
>Well, an alleyway with floors that had little places chipped off of it and a ceiling that had a bunch of wires in it. But whatever.<br>I turned on my stealth generator and hugged the wall behind me, doing it slowly as to not attract attention from my place in the shadows while I watched the scene go on.

Two burly men - At least, I assumed they were men. I couldn't tell from my dark and devious place in the shadows - stepped up to Akels and each grabbed an arm.

_"Ah. Thanos and Tenos. How nice of you to join me."_ Akels charmed unenthusiastically.

I was a little surprised to hear an alien voice respond to him. It sounded like.. Some kind of twisted version of growls and grunts. It was weird. And yet.. I understood it. That was weirder.

_"You don't have the Republic soldier."_ One of them replied. I think the one on the right side of Akels said that, because I didn't see any movement from the one that was actually in some light and on my side.

Akels didn't look phased; like normal. _"I was just going to get her. You are welcome to join me, if you so choose."_ He snorted.

The two people exchanged glances before looking down at the shorter alien. "We will accompany you." I don't know which one said that.

I think my heart stopped. _Republic soldier? I sure hope they mean Bastila. Who else could it be, though, right?_

..Right?

Akels started walking down the alleyway, which I now realized was just a regular street down there. Creepy.

I followed them in the shadows, still hugging the wall; still making sure my stealth generator was on. Akels took a turn into a narrow path that had lines on the wall that I think might have been cords for something. They looked like pipes, though. I don't know how to explain it.

Also on the walls was this broken pipe-thing(We shall call them that from now on). Some sort of steam was coming out of it.

Me, with my horrible curiosity, wanted to know what it was. Was it steam? (I know. In the past I hadn't gotten distracted all that much. But what can I say? I had gone a looonnng time without sleep.)

So I went over to touch it, the Chase of Akels long forgotten.

I poked my finger in the line of fire and then quickly drew it back just as fast. It burned! That was definitely not steam.

Murmurs brought my attention back to following the trio. I crouched-trotted over in the shadows again behind them. This time I wouldn't get distracted.

They led me through a wild goose chase before we finally came to a stop in front of a door wedged in-between a narrow passageway.

_"Stop._" One of the aliens ordered, right as Akels was about to type in something in the door opener console. _"What about the guards?_"

Akels rolled his eyes._ "I made sure they were gone long before I planned to visit the girl."_ He spit out, as if the mere idea of guards was an insult to his pride.

The two guards exchanged glances, but motioned for Akels to continue. He did.

The door opened and inside was a small room. They walked inside. I barely made it in behind them. The door brushed against my shoulder, I had barely made it in there so much.

The walls were much like they were outside; those weird pipe thing's lining the walls. A few cargo bins dotted the room here and there, and one console in the middle of the place decorated the room. But none of that was my main concern. Over to the side was an energy field cage containing a petite woman with two brown braids. I bet you can't guess who it was.

If you guessed Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, your totally in the wrong dimension. Why are you even reading this? Aren't there Wizard of Oz books out there you'd be more more interested in?

Alright, alright. I admit. I'm stalling.

The memory of this isn't so great to me. But whatever. I still lived.

Bastila looked up and stared RIGHT at me through long dark eyelashes. I gulped.

The two alien guy's shifted their eyesight to see what Bastila was looking at. Me. One of them gave a weird sound that was probably a gasp and grabbed his blaster. _"Intruders!"_

_Right. Because I'M the one intruding. It's not like I planned for this to happen, unlike you two. Sure, excellent coincidence, but I certainly didn't plan it._

I did a shmancy roll to the side, still with my stealth field on, and took out my pistols. I pointed it straight at the guy's heart and faltered only for a second.

I'm sure you would have faltered too. Right before I shot him, flashes of the people I had earlier killed had sprung to my mind and refreshed the awful feeling in the pit of my stomach.

He fell to the ground, lifeless, and his counterpart yelled in terrified anger, "THANOS!" before shooting directly at my head: Even though I was crouching.

A blaster bolt zimmed right past my ear and left it burning, a little bit. I hissed and shot like a madman at the guy who must've been Tenos.

While doing so, I had accidentally shot Akels. I even remember muttering an, 'Oops'.

Akels fell to the ground dramatically, arms flailing in the air while doing so. It reminded me of The Fifth Element, when that blue chick get's shot.

So, I did what any good citizen would do. I scurried over to the dead bodies and scavenged them for credits.

Sure, I know that's being really heartless, but what other choice did I have? I was in the fight for my life!

Besides. Before I did any of that I had sat there for a few seconds in contemplation, then decided to go over and see if they were alive. They weren't. THEN I scavenged them for credits. And I felt bad about it all along the way. Happy?

But if any of you actually wanted to know my luck, I hit the jackpot! Akels had 4,000 credits on him! No such luck with the other guy's though. With the two of them combined, I only got like 145 creds.

_Okay, so now I have money. But what the heck am I supposed to use it for? I just shot the guy that was going to set me up with Bastila. Plus, Bastila's right next to me. What good would money do now, anyway? Speaking of Bastila..._

Once I had made sure the credits were securely in my bag, I turned off my generator and casually walked over to the Jedi.

She eyed me with a bit of surprise. "I was not aware children were permitted to carry a blaster."

I raised an eyebrow. "You really think we need permission on Taris?"

She returned the eyebrow raise. "Point conceded."

I didn't wait for her to start blabbering gibberish. I needed to get to my point, and fast. "I'm not here to save you." I said.

She didn't look surprised. "Then what _are_ you here for? To entrap me? Sell me to the highest bidding slave market?"

I crossed my arms over my chest and looked at her as if those were the most ridiculous assumptions to be made in the entire Universe. "I came here to talk."

"To talk," She repeated with bratty unbelief. "You really expect me to believe that?"

I nodded as if she had just asked me if my favourite color was rainbow. "Yep. So here's the catch," Again. Moving on and ignoring anything she might have said in the future. "I have blackmail on you. I know all about Revan and the Jedi and Carth Onasi and Mission Vao and the Exile and Malak and the Star Forge and all that other good stuff." Her eyes had widened a little bit at the mention of Revan, but she looked totally confused with the other stuff. I figured it was over her head. She was just a Battle Meditation Jedi pawn, right? She wouldn't know about all that other stuff. So, figuring this, I continued with a different approach. "Okay, in short, Revan is going to come rescue you tomorrow. Don't ask questions, I'll explain later. But the point is, we're - " I made a circle with a hand that had been previously crossed over my arms, "You, Revan, and I - going to be going on a miraculous adventure to save the galaxy. But your going to need my help."

There was a pause. Bastila must've been expecting me to explain more. When I didn't, she looked at me like I belonged in an insane asylum. Which, I'm sure any reasonable person would have by now. "What are you talking about?" She asked, purely confused and curious.

I heaved a heavy sigh and rolled my eyes before elaborating. "I can see the future. Or rather, I know what's going to happen. Therefore, I know that Malak and his toy army are going to come marching into viewpoint at any given second and blow this planet to pieces. But that's besides the point. I know that tomorrow, Revan is going to come save you. I also know that you know that Revan doesn't know about her past. I also know Revan is female, which was pretty interesting to find out. For me, at least. What was your reaction?" I asked casually, as if we were talking about a celebrity getting married. "Were you surprised?" I put a hand to my chest and looked at her as if I were a news reporter telling someone all about new juicy gossip. "I mean, I bet you totally weren't expecting Revan to be female, right? With the whole mask and cape thing going on, there."

Bastila shook her head and raised a hand to prevent me from talking. "Wait a minute. Your serious, aren't you? About Revan."

I nodded as if she should know all this. "Yeah. Long hair, incredibly beautiful but has a sour attitude? That Revan. 'Course, she's mindwiped now, but.."

Bastila looked like she was just catching on. "Mindwiped? How do you know Revan, much less know about the Council's whereabout's?"

I sighed again, this time forcing upon myself some patience. "I'll explain later. Right now I need something from you."

Bastila looked to be in higher power now. "Ah. So you didn't come here to simply 'talk'."

I huffed in frustration. "Of course I came here to 'Simply talk'! What have we been doing the past few minutes?" I sighed. "I need your assurance."

She looked at me oddly. "My assurance?"

"What are you, deaf? Yes. Your assurance."

Pause for a second here. Does anyone besides me notice that with the letters and words in 'Assurance', you can say, "Ur an ass"?

No? Alright. Just checking. Proceed.

I think I must have been impatient that day. Or just really cranky from lack of sleep. But whatever the case, I continued with my almost uncivil conversation with her.

"I need you to promise me that whatever happens, you will take me with you." I told her.

She looked at me like a was a three-year-old. "I promise nothing. I do not know you, nor do I trust you."

I looked at her in a different light, right then. Like some kind of pleading/pity expression. "Bastila," I drawled. "Do your Jedi tricks on me if you must. I'm not a bad person. Your going to need my aid. I'm trying to help you."

She did something close to a glare at me for a few long moments. Finally, I sighed, and said, "Bastila, do you need me to prove to you that I can be of help and actually can see the future and past?"

She pursed her lip's, but didn't say anything.

I mimicked her. "Fine then. Have it your way." I paused for dramatic effect. "You were sent to the Jedi at a young age. Your mother wanted you to go. In this way, you were separated from your father; someone you truly, truly, love. Letting go and removing attachment's from your family was a difficult thing to do, and even to this day it's a sore spot in the heart. In all honesty, you never let go. You've never liked your mother. She always forced your father on treasure hunts and put his life in danger."

Even as I spoke the words, I knew Bastila would have a sour reaction to it. She glared at me with the venom of what I imagine was the darkside. "What do you know about my father?"

I tsked. "Careful, Basty. Anger leads to the darkside."

I expected her to lash out at me or something. But to my surprise, she didn't. She took in a deep breath and nodded. "Your right. I cannot possibly fathom what it would be like to sink so low that I reach the likes of you."

My turn to glare. Though, somewhere, beyond the fuzz of sleepy anger, I knew it was just her way of making herself feel better and I didn't really have a reason to be mad.

"So, say I did know your father. If you promise me that you will keep me with you, I can assure you your curiosity about your father will be satiated."

I stood there for a long time while she sorted thing's out in her mind. I think I might have fallen asleep once or twice.

Finally, she looked back up at me with bright blue eyes. "I doubt I will ever see you again," She said, "Therefore the problematic contrivance you've place upon me will not be an issue."

I swear I heard a flatline go through my head.

_Smaller words, please._

"Fine. I so swear that I shall not let you leave my side, should we ever meet again." She declared.

My mouth twitched upward into a grin. "Thank you." I said. And, as if to tell her the seal to the deal, I added, "You've helped the Republic in a way you could not possibly understand."

Of course, that wasn't exactly true, but I needed something to completely sell her to me.

So with that, I flipped back on my stealth field generator and hopped on back to the Bek Base.

...Well, after getting lost a few times, of course.

The travel was short and boring, much to my thankfulness. I didn't feel like killing any more people that day.

When I got back, I was bombarded with questions and accusations as to where I went, (Mostly from Revan) but I didn't really care. I ignored her - I mean, them - completely and made a beeline for my room.

What was I to do now? The one thing I DESPERATELY needed.

SLEEP.


	7. Extra: The hour before

_Extra: The hour before  
><em>

I walked the halls of the Bek base; bored. Now that I had made the deal with Bastila, I had to wait until Revan - or, rather, Alora - won the swoop race. Once I had gotten back to my room, I collapsed on my bed and fell almost directly asleep. It was nice. But now that I was rested, it was BOOOORRRINNG around there. Especially since there was no Former Sith Lord to annoy.

Boc was too busy to mess with me, and everyone else wasn't exactly what I would call 'friendly'. Zaerdra and Gadon didn't have anything interesting to talk about, and even though I knew them and was comfortable around them, it got awkward just standing there. I wondered how Zaerdra managed.

I passed various rooms connected to the halls before something shiny caught my eye and made me stop. I swung my foot around to go in the direction of the room and upon entering felt a smile creep onto my face. There stood, in broad daylight, (Hah! Joke's on you. The lower city _has_ no daylight.) a Sith uniform.

I looked outside to check if anyone was watching. I looked up at where I knew a security camera was, and smiled into it. I looked back at the uniform before sparing a glance around the room. It looked like a horribly messy version of a closet. A junk room, perhaps? Heh.

Well, you know what they say. One man's Sith Uniform is another man's escape from boredom.

My smile widened as I stepped into a metallic boot.

/ / / / /

"Hmm." I mumbled to myself. "When I envisioned me in a uniform, I didn't think it'd be so big." I looked around the helmet over my head. The armour didn't exactly.. To say the least, 'fit'. You could probably stuff another person in there with me, it was so big. I shrugged. "Oh well. This is still pretty funny." I smirked at how my voice sounded. "Testing. Ahem. Testing, testing, one, two, three!" I murmured happily, before laughing. An idea sprung to my head. I grinned and began walking down the hallways.

Okay, maybe not walking. Waddling.

I peeked around the corner through the dark Sith lenses, trying to contain my giggles. I jumped out of my hiding place and made a pose. "Hey, Gadon! Look at me!" I cried. Zaerdra turned towards me before making an extremely amusing face. She was miserably hiding her laughter by scoffing and pointing her head to the ground before slapping a hand to her face. Gadon raised an eyebrow and shook his head, although he was grinning. "I don't think I could ever imagine you as a Sith, Tessa." He said.

I stood straight. My grin faded into a clear smile. I did more antics to please their humor.

The bitter thought entered my mind with a sad, wistful irony.

_You might be surprised. _


	8. Canderous is a slow old geezer!

As is probably guessable, there was nothing to do after my little scene with the Sith armour.

Which meant I was bored.

Which meant I had to go see what other people were doing.

Which meant Gadon shooed me away.

Which meant Boc was going to get a visit from me.

Which meant I was put to work.

And, in case your uninformed, I hate work. But quite the contrary to what you might think, I actually.. enjoyed.. working with him. Once he showed me how to put a few parts together, I completed at least 20 more of whatever I was making(sad that I don't even know what I built) before I ran out of parts. So then I went over and watched over his shoulder as he worked on what looked like an engine.

He sighed before he finally accepted that there wasn't really any good way to get rid of me.

"Okay, kid," He said, leaving his work. "Since you won't leave, here's the deal: I'm going to make you take notes."

I think he did this in thinking that would make me think twice about staying. It didn't.

He walked over to a metal(or maybe it was plasteel) box type thing and picked something out of it before chucking it at my head. I failed to catch it. I did, however, successfully duck out of the way. Then I turned to pick whatever it was up.

It was a datapad.

"That thing will hold all the notes you need and them some - for years to come." He picked something out of his back pocket. "I have mine right here. I've had it since I was your age. Fifteen human years or somewhere around there."

I looked at him like he was insane. "Fifteen? I'm eighteen."

Lies!

Ahem. Anyway...

Boc looked unimpressed. "Your a terrible liar."

I gaped at him. "I'm a _what_?"

Nope. I wasn't offended that he just called me a liar.

I was offended because he accused me of being terrible at it.

But that made me think. What if I really was a terrible liar? What if all this time everyone could see through what I thought was my brilliant facade?

Boc shrugged as if he couldn't give a crap. "Whatever. I won't judge you, human. I won't tell, either. Whatever your purposes behind hiding your age are, they're your own."

_Well, that's a relief. But seriously. I'm a terrible liar? Jeesh... That does not bode well for my future, since it's pretty much made up of lies in here._

A strangled, "Thanks." Was all that came out of my mouth.

He went back to work. I tried to figure out the datapad.

Almost right as he started explaining various thing's to me as he continued to work did I finally figure out how to open up a folder to write in.

It was amazing.

There were several different ways to create an entry. You could write with a finger like you would on paper, or you could type in on these cool holographic-looking letters that(seemingly) hung in mid-air(I couldn't make sense of them), or you could make a holo in itself! For real! You could press a button and it showed a version of yourself on there, miniature-sized. It was like something off the movies. It was extraordinary. And that, my friend, is just the tip of the iceburg. I found out more later.

But I couldn't even allow myself to be fascinated with it. I had to focus on Boc and his work and let him explain thing's to me.

Seeing as how I couldn't type as fast as he spoke and I probably wouldn't remember thing's that well anyway, I put it on the record-a-holo setting thing(I don't know the name of the program and I don't know how I got there. It was like getting a program on your computer in Korean or something and then randomly pressing buttons to see what happens, since you obviously can't read them yourself. Unless your Korean or can read it, of course).

It was fascinating. He explained to me all about swoops and how they're made and how they work. I learned the insides and outsides of it all.

And then he had to leave.

For what, I don't know. To be honest, I think he left me because his note theory wasn't working. It was like telling a dog to stay put so you could get away from the responsibility.

Oh well. That just gave me more time with my new datapad.

Which leads us to here.

That's right. Everything you've read? It was all because of that datapad.

Please. You didn't think I could remember everything that happened all that way up until now in that much detail, did you?

Of course not. I have a photographic memory, not a perfect one.

So I took a holo of me going over everything that had happened up until then.

Then I played with the setting's and found Mando'a, the Mandalorian language(it amazes me they even put that language setting _on_ there). Sure, it wasn't English, but I was familiar with it. So I made that the main language setting.

Ahh. The wonders of actually understanding what your reading.

I sat there and put in everything that had happened, as said before. It took hours. I don't know how long I sat there just typing and talking to and playing with the thing. Obviously it had been awhile, though, because when I was done, Boc had returned.

"Your friend is leaving." He informed me.

I sprang up immediately. "Where are they?" I didn't even try to hide the urgency in my voice.

"Probably somewhere by the door. You better hurry."

I nodded curtly before thinking quickly that I needed to pick up my thing's before I left.

I paused at the door. What if this was the last time I saw Boc?

That thought kind of scared me.

I turned back around and looked at his questioning face with feeling's of anguish and indecisiveness. I hurried over to him and gave him a hug. "Thank you, Boc. So much."

He hesitantly hugged me back. "For what?"

I didn't waste time. "Everything."

And then I was gone.

I sprinted to my room as fast as I possibly could, got my stuff, then sprinted to the door. I caught the people I was looking for halfway to the elevator.

Revan heard me and turned halfheartedly to look my way. Then she gave me a familiar scowl. "Oh, great. Not you."

I grinned at her then looked at her only companion. "Ba-stil-a! So great to see you again!" I drawled out each syllable in her name as if we were lifelong friend's re-meeting each other after a time away.

Said Jedi turned around to look at me. When recognition finally lit up on her face, she looked as if she had just been smacked. "You? ?" She asked incredulously.

My grin turned smug. "What's with the unbelieving look? I told you we'd meet again. In fact, I've got a feeling we'll be together for a loonng time."

She shook her head in utter disbelief. "I can't believe this." Is there an echo in here?

"You are actually serious."

I nodded. "Yup. And I'm serious about knowing stuff, too. So what are we waiting for? To the Upper City Apartments - AWAY!"

And with that I grabbed her arm and pulled her along with me, practically skipping. "We're off to see the Wizard! The wonderful Wizard of Oz! Because because because because BECAUUUSE... Because of the wonderful thing's he does!" ...In bed.

Bastila obviously thought I was insane.

"Wait, wait, wait. You know Tessa?" Revan asked from somewhere behind us. She was at our side in less than a second.

Bastila threw me a distasteful look and then turned to Revan, seeming to ignore our linkage. "As if I would spare my time with this child. I have merely had the... Inconvenience.. of meeting her. _Briefly._" She stressed the last word as if that should explain everything.

I was unphased. "Oh-ho-ho! Au contrare, my little friend. When you need my vast expanse of knowledge you will flock and be thankful I'm here." Eh. Maybe that was a little overboard.

I didn't wait for anyone to respond to me. "So where's Mission and Carth and Zaalbar?"

Revan, still displeased and frowning, answered me. "They were sent to go back to the apartments right after the swoop race."

I shrugged but nodded. "Mmk. So that's where we're headed now, right?"

She nodded curtly, frown still in place, slowly beginning to morph into a scowl again.

The elevator ride to the Upper City was the shortest thing ever compared to the elevator ride to the Undercity. And it was dry. Not damp. And the smell of decay didn't linger. In all, it was amazing compared to my previous experience in Taris elevators.

When we got to the top and the doors opened, the brightness was unexpected and I practically flinched at it. When we got out into the place between the elevator, the Sith Military Base and the actual city, we were met by Carth, Mission and Zaalbar.

I smiled at the three and my heart suddenly felt weird. I can't name the emotion it carried right then.

Bastila let out a breath she had apparently been holding in. "Finally. Perhaps now we can go somewhere and speak in privacy." I couldn't help but feel her glance my way when she said the last three words.

"Sounds good. Let's go." Carth said curtly, already leading the way to somewhere else.

I followed, then abruptly stopped when I actually saw the city.

It was like nothing I had ever seen before. Bright. Beautiful. The rooftops glistened from the light whatever sun was providing. Everything seemed so... Big. It made me feel tiny. Like the galaxy really was huge, and I was smaller than a grain of sand compared to it.

Then I looked down and saw the people. Most of them looked... tired. Worn out. Some looked scared. Most were a mixture of all. It was merely an echo of what I had seen in the Undercity and yet it still made me feel terrible inside. I quickly pushed away those feeling's and looked everywhere but there. _I'll get used to it with time._ I assured myself.

The trip to the apartments took forever(it was probably only about a half an hour, but.. whatever). When we finally made it there, I saw that two little makeshift beds had been placed on the ground, but only one looked used. Hm.

"Now," Bastila said, making herself quite at home in front of a bed I assumed she was probably claiming as hers now, "What plans have you two created to get off this planet?"

Carth opened his mouth to speak, but Revan beat him to it. "Like we had time? We were trying to save YOU, remember?"

Bastila looked down at Revan condescendingly. "Ah, yes. I see. Well. Now that I'm in charge I doubt thing's will progress so slowly."

Now Carth did speak. He said something along the lines of 'You can't berate your troops just because you have attitude problems'. I ignored him and found a corner to put my stuff down, barely paying any background attention to their conversation. You can only listen so many times before you can quote what they're saying, you know?

I rolled my shoulders a bit. Man.. Who knew they could ache so much from carrying a simple bag? I mean, it couldn't have been the rifle. The rifle was lighter than my bag full of goodies.

Mission had gone to join the conversation with Revan, Bastila, and Carth, but soon her face scrunched up and she walked over to me instead. Zaalbar was over in another corner doing whatever Zaalbar does.

"What crawled up HER ion engine and died?" She muttered to me.

I did this weird mixture of a snort and a snicker. "Kriff, Mission! That's hilarious."

She looked kind of confused as to what she did that was so funny, but she grinned anyway.

I laugh because it seems so true in the beginning.. And it's most peoples' first thoughts.

"I'll tell you what crawled up there and died. Her soul! She fed it to the Order a loonnng time ago."

Now don't go gettin' the wrong impression. I love Bastila. Truly, I do. But she is INCREDIBLY whiny in the beginning. But I'll tell ya! She's fun to tease if you play male Revan. Hahaha *Darkside points gained* Oops.

Mission looked at me kind-of oddly, but her smile still stayed there; though now it looked unsure if it should be smiling or not.

Bastila shot a look over to me. "Huh. Guess she heard that." I muttered.

Mission turned her head to see Bastila's expression, too, and I swear her smile got just a tad bit bigger.

"I have just about enough of your arrogance," Bastila scowled, stomping up to us and looking directly at me.

I faked my eyes bugging out of their sockets. "MY arrogance? Please!"

Bastila shook her head softly as if she were resigning. "No amount of possible information is worth this much hassle." She said quietly, all traces of arrogance gone.

Hm. Maybe I should have been nicer.

"Look, Bastila.. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been so mean. I know you've gone through some tough poodoo lately, what with losing your lightsaber and getting kidnapped and all.."

Carth, somewhere behind Bastila, walked up to us now, fully into the conversation. "Wait, wait, wait, what did you just say?" He had a hand partially up as if to literally stop the conversation. "Bastila? _Bastila_ lost her lightsaber? _The_ saviour of the Republic?" He looked to be on the edge of breaking through his make-believe mask of not being amused and bursting out into hysterical laughter.

Bastila's face lit up in a bright shade of red and I could swear she looked like a pouty five-year-old being told she was a child. I almost expected her to go, 'I'm NOT a child! I'm all grown up!'

"Yes, well, I'm sure you would have been just as disoriented after having such a terribly ungracious landing on an unknown planet. In the crash I seemed to have... misplaced.. my lightsaber before it was then confiscated and I was captured by the Vulkars."

Carth managed to contain his laughter, but a small chortle escaped him before he got out the words, "Your supposed to be a Jedi! I thought Jedi were all powerful being's that could get out of anything!"

Bastila seemed unnerved by this comment. "We are still human, Carth. Simply because we have the Force to rely on does not mean we are immune to getting in quandaries."

Carth was unphased. "Heh, heh, I know, but... But your a Jedi! Isn't losing your lightsaber some kind of violation of the Jedi Code or something?"

And that seemed to have been the argument for the next day and a half. Carth got lot's of chuckles out of it, at least. I say 'day and a half' because during the 'half' Revan had had enough of it.

"Yes, Carth! We get it! She lost her lightsaber. It's lost it's humour. Let it go." She had cried.

Carth just shook his head and chuckled to himself.

By the second day that had passed, I was beyond antsy. "Why isn't Canderous' message here yet?" I mumbled to myself worriedly, hands behind my pack as I paced. "If he doesn't hurry up, the planet's gonna blow before we even get outta here."

"What's that?" Revan asked somewhere to my right, cleaning off her blade. She had just got done sharpening the thing.

"Nothing," I said nonchalantly, waving a hand as if to shoo away the thought. And this time, I really was nonchalant about it. I didn't give a crap; I was far too distracted. "Rev, how come we haven't left the apartment yet? Don't we have anything to do?"

Revan put down her blade harshly as if she were annoyed at my question. I soon found out why with her next statement. "Why do you keep calling me that?"

I blinked at her in confusion. "What?"

She sighed. "Rev. You keep calling me Rev."

I felt fear stab me. "Wh... Oh. Well... I.. Uh.." Smooth. "Well.. You remind me of a friend I had back home. Her name was Rev."

Revan seemed to accept this answer. "Hmm.."

I continued to pace.

By the time the third day rolled around, I had convinced everyone to go outside of our apartment. Revan had taken me to the green Twi'lek's store to get some stuff for her weapons, Carth took me to go get some food, Mission and I snuck out to go 'get some air' (AKA go watch some fights in the Cantina), and I had glimpsed outside more than a couple times to see if anyone was coming to, I don't know, give us a message from Canderous?

"WHY ISN'T IT HERE YET? !" I yelled, stomping my foot and throwing my arms in the air. _This must be a defect of old age - SLOTHNESS! (He's not even really that old, actually..) The geezer!_

Revan walked up to me with both hands cautiously raised, as if she were trying to contain a wild animal. "Woah! Calm down!"

I let out an overdramatic moan and made my way to the door. "How can I calm down? Right now is not the time for a chill pill!"

I didn't see her face, but assuming from her tone of voice, she obviously didn't know what that statement had meant. "Okkaayyyy... Well... Why don't you go take one anyway? Are they in your bag? I'll go get one for you."

I sighed and turned around, calmer now but frustration still bubbling in the back of my mind. "Don't worry about it, okay? I'm fine now. Thank you for offering."_ Even though you had no idea what I apparently meant. But of course I'd never say that._ Or at least I had thought, at the time.

And then, just as I was about to skulk off over to my corner to pout some more, there was a knock at our metallic door. I whipped around and prayed to God that it was Canderous' message.

Revan, who was closest to the door, didn't even make it there before I did. I had pretty much sprinted to the thing and nearly broke it trying to get it open in time(well, time enough for me, which is the equivalent of two nano-seconds).

Lo and behold, there stood a completely cool-as-a-cucumber and completely mischievous-looking Twi'lek(who was, unbelievably, not green).

I sobbed dramatically and threw myself into the arms of the man. "OH, THANK FORCE! I'VE BEEN WAITING FOREVER! I was so scared! I thought for sure we wouldn't get out of here before Ma-" I must have really needed sleep.

The Twi'lek threw me off before I could finish my sentence, thankfully. He didn't even seem to acknowledge me after that. He turned to Revan and I stood at attention, reprimanding myself and making a mental note to get aLOT of sleep later. "I have a message for you from Canderous of clan Ordo."

Revan nodded an affirmative. "What is it?"

"He wants you to meet him in the Lower City Cantina."

Revan's brow wrinkled. "Why?"

The Twi'lek shrugged like he didn't give a damn. "Hell if I know. But I wouldn't keep him waiting. Mandalorian's aren't known for their patience." And with that he left.

Revan looked at me for a long time. Neither of us said anything. I was just waiting for her to snap and interrogate me, thinking I was a Sith undercover or something, but she never did. She just looked at me at if she were peering into my soul. Then she turned to the rest of the party, who had been lounging in odd places and watching everything go on very silently.

"A _mandalorian?_ Surely this can't be good news." Bastila frowned, arms crossed and staring narrow-eyed at Revan as if that would make her decline the message.

"I don't think it was an invitation, Bastila. I think it was an order." Mission piped in.

Revan sighed and walked over to grab her gear. "Good news, bad news or invitation, we need to go see him. I have a feeling it's important."

I resisted the urge to stomp my foot. "Damn right it's important!" I hissed under my breath. Revan glanced at me, but I couldn't be sure if she heard me or not.

"So.. Who's all coming?" Revan asked, standing at the doorway a few feet away from me with her gear all equipped.

Bastila stuck up her nose. No, literally. She did. It was amusing, actually. "I doubt you could get out of such a contrivance without my aid, therefore I shall accompany you."

Revan nodded as if she couldn't give a damn. "Yeah, yeah, who else?"

Bastila stood shocked before she sniffed indignantly at Revan's apparent lack of care on whether she was going or not.

Mission raised a finger to say yes at exactly the same time I had said, "I'm coming."

Revan looked between Mission and I then sighed. "Look, I don't really think this is something you kid's should be involved in."

Mission stood up and put her hands on her hips in an instant. "Kid! I ain't no kid! And besides, if Bastila can go, we should be able to, too! She ain't much older than us!"

Revan rubbed the bridge of her nose, eyes shut and another sigh escaping her lips. "Look. If you guy's go with us, you have to promise not to cause any trouble."

I gasped as if shocked and laid a hand on my heart as if I were stung. "Rev, what pain you give! Me? Cause problems? Never!"

Revan rolled her eyes, but I swear I saw her mouth twitch up into a smile. She didn't say anything on the 'Rev' nickname and neither did anyone else. I had been calling her that since I made my 'confession' about her reminding me of a friend back home, and I'm pretty sure people were getting at least a little used to it by now, weird as it was.

"What about you, Zaalbar? You comin'?" Mission asked, looking over in the corner at the big fuzz ball.

_Geez. I had almost forgotten about him, what with all this stress of dying from Sith bombardment._

_"I will come to give my protection over Alora if she so desires."_ He answered, looking not at Mission, but at Revan.

Revan looked at his expectant face with an expression of kindness. "You have no orders to come with me to this meeting. If you so choose, you may stay. I'm sure I can handle myself."

The Wookiee did this weird mixture of a snort and growl which I assume was a sound of amusement._ "I am sure you can, as well. Then it my choice to stay. As much as I would love to leave this wretched Upper City of persecution, I have no business with Mandalorians."_

Revan nodded.

Mission looked between the two, seemingly unable to make up her mind. You could tell she wanted to go with Revan, but you could also tell she didn't want to leave her best friend behind. Finally, after a few minutes, she made up her mind. "I guess I'll stay. I mean, toughing it up with Mandalorians sounds fun and all, but I wouldn't want to leave Zaalbar behind. I guess I'll see you guy's later."

Revan shrugged. "Just as well. One less kid off my back." Before Mission could protest, Revan winked. Mission didn't say anything, but I'm sure I saw a sheepish smile creep onto her face before she turned away(probably to hide it).

Carth walked out of the refresher just then. "What'd I miss?"

/ / / / /

After a bit of fussing, Carth was filled in on everything that had happened while we walked down to the Lower City Cantina. When we got there, Canderous was waiting for us in a dark corner of the smoke-filled place.

When he first saw me, his expression changed to that of angrily curious. By that I mean he was scowling at me but he was still curious.

"You? ?" He growled.

Yep. Angrily curious pretty much sums it up.

"Yes, me," I then ignored him and turned to Revan. "I have a bit of business I need to do here, okay? You go ahead and talk to Canderous for a little bit. I'll be back in fifteen minutes or so." 'Bit of business' being 'I'm either going to avoid being seen by the bartender' or 'I'm going to go pay him'. Either or, I wasn't sticking around to face Canderous' wrath amidst the part where they were supposed to talk about serious thing's.

Revan nodded the affirmative and I walked off to go find my destiny.

Or in this case... the Pazaak den.

Yes. I'm sorry. I can't help it. I'm a pazaak addict. While all the normal people had finished playing KotOR and were moving onto Jedi Academy, I stayed behind and played KotOR over and over and over again - not for the common reasons, oh, no, but for the Pazaak and Swoop Racing.

And I don't mean to brag, but I'm pretty bad ass at it!

I was totally stoked about going to play some Pazaak when I realized I didn't actually have a deck.

Frack.

_Well, that's out of the picture. What now?_

I looked around as if that would give me the answer to all my problems.

And it did.

There, on a table not too far away from me, sat a man all alone; head slung back behind him and mouth agape, letting out atrociously loud snores every few seconds. It looked like the man had gotten drunk and passed out... and left his full Pazaak deck shining in all it's glory in front of him.

Now let me tell you something straight: I don't steal. I just don't, okay? I don't do that. I'm not a bad person.

But under these circumstances...

_Come on. The world's going to Hell in a few hours anyway; this man's not going to need it. _Came a voice that was distinctly mine and yet sounded nothing like what I would do. Still, it was my own thought's.

Then again, this was like seeing an old man passed out and five hundred dollar bills laid out in front of him. Take it? Leave it? You don't need it, really, and this old man is probably a veteran. Are you going to rob the man or are you going to fold the money and put it in his pocket lest anyone else take it?

Then again AGAIN... This man had drool hanging off his lip and his entire form looked disheveled. He had a fading black eye and looked broke as anyone ever could be. The guy could very well be a sniveling, gambling liar. Plus, this wasn't money I was stealing. And the guy wasn't old nor did he look like a veteran.

_Oh what the Hell._

I scooped up the Pazaak deck and made sure everything was in shape.

_Yep. A modern beginner's deck; nothing special about it. But who the Hell cares? I'll pick up more worthy cards later. Right now it's time to get myself lot's 'o moo-lah.  
><em>

I organized them while I walked over to the Pazaak den, fully knowing I would be taking up more than fifteen minutes time.

_Eh. Revan'll understand._

_...Probably.__  
><em>


	9. Oh great! A Dark Jedi

"I should have held the 18." I repeated for the 14th time to myself, shaking my head disappointedly. "If I had just held the 18 I would have won. I know I would have won. Dammit.."

Revan groaned loudly. "Will you shut up already? You've said that so many times I could punch you in the face. You said you won some creds anyway, right? So why are you still complaining?"

I narrowed my eyes as her but didn't really have any actual annoyance behind it. "Because I don't just play for the credits. I play for the challenge."

Revan looked off to the side, eyes low. "Yeah, well, credits over sport works better for me." She muttered.

I sighed overdramatically. "Rev, you could not possibly understand." I'm not kidding. She probably couldn't. Why? Because credits to me seemed like nothing(like Monopoly money or something). You can get them anywhere. Hell, even when I played KotOR the FIRST time I had 11,100 credits as a norm. Therefore the sport was more fun than the credits. How I do enjoy winning easily when I've met them for only the first time. The shock.. Haha..

"If you like the credits so much, then you can have them. I only scored 153 creds anyway, after betting most the credits I had already won." I sniffed, handing her my winning's.

She looked at me in surprise, then looked down at my hand full of creds. The look on her face was something along the lines of: 'They are real! Real credits! Amazing. Tessa must be the most superb, mature Pazaak player ever.

Haha... No. But I'm sure she was surprised that they were actually real.

She tentatively took them and inconspicuously(or at least_ somewhat_ inconspicuously) examined them once more before deciding they really were real.

"How did you get so good, anyway?" She asked, shoving the currency into the pack at her waist.

"Practice." I answered. "So what did you and my evaar'la ori'vod talk about?"

I saw the corners of Revan's mouth twitch up. "Ori'vod, huh? Interesting you hold him in such high regards. You don't even know him."

I half-shrugged. "He's from clan Ordo, right? That was my uncle's clan. He's as close to a blood family member as I could possibly get, since my family's gone." I super self-consciously chose my words, keeping the story I had made up close to mind while still running new ground.

"Your uncle was a mandalorian?" She asked, eyebrow raised and looking every bit suspicious and curious.

"Yeah, but he was killed in the Mandalorian Wars. So I don't even have him anymore, either."

She seemed to be contemplating this information. As she did so I was silently pleased with myself for making a more three-dimensional background. After a few minutes she spoke up. "So.. You have no family left?"

I looked up at her face and then looked away. "No." Was my simple answer. I made sure to make it sound like it was a painful thing to say.

She didn't look at me. She stared straight ahead as if she were in her own macrocosm of memories and thoughts and never said anything.

When we were in the Upper City and halfway back to the Apartments, she spoke up again. "All my family is dead, too."

I waited a few seconds before looking up at her stiffly. "Will you tell me about it?" I asked, afraid I might have been asking too much.

Revan's jaw locked, but she answered me. "My father died of couple years after I was born... And my mother a few months after that."

"I'm sorry. That must have been very hard for you." I said, trying not to lapse into monotone. Hell, I wasn't _really_ sorry. This wasn't her actual past.

She lazily shrugged. "It's fine. I don't remember my parents very well, so it doesn't really matter. A kind middle-aged Sullustan by the name of Tienn Tubb's took me in from the time they died to the time I joined the Republic. I guess that's partially how I learned to understand so many different alien languages."

I couldn't help my brows crinkling at this news. Tienn Tubbs? THE Tienn Tubbs? How in space did the Jedi Order even know of him? Maybe he wasn't the same Tienn Tubbs I was thinking of. I mean, there's gotta be more than one Sullustan Tienn Tubbs in the galaxy, right?

"Was Tienn a mechanic?" I couldn't help from asking.

Her brows crinkled and she looked at me as if she were just remembering something. "Huh. You know what? He _did_ dabble a bit in mechanics. In fact.." She seemed on the brink of some kind of revelation now. "Last I heard he was a technician serving on Malachor. I haven't heard from him since, though, so I would assume he didn't make it." She didn't even sound the least bit sad at the thought he was gone.

And I commented on this. "Doesn't that make you sad? You know, that he might be gone?"

She frowned at the empty space in front of him for the longest time, unanswering.

"Well?" I urged, my famous impatience starting to kick in the tiniest bit.

Her head snapped to look at me as if she had just realized I was there. She stared at me blankly for a few seconds before saying, "Oh. I... I don't know. I don't really feel sad over it. I probably should, shouldn't I? Hmm..."

And then she lapsed into thought again. Some few minutes later, she said, "I feel like he's safe, somewhere. That's probably why I'm not sad over it."

I 'hmm'd' and left it at that. A few seconds later we arrived at the apartment doors.

At the sound of our arrival, Zaalbar glanced up from a very intense-looking Pazaak game with Mission whilst the blue Twi'lek didn't even seem to know of our existence.

Bastila, who had stormed off in a huff ahead of us when Revan apparently wouldn't try to find another option except Canderous, sat down immediately as soon as she had gotten to the nearest bed, arms crossed.

_Let's see... Should I go over to a pouty-mood Bastila, or should I go over to an interesting-looking game of Pazaak?_

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out which one I chose.

Mission was so absorbed in her Pazaak game that she didn't even notice when Revan started listing off what had happened in the Cantina. Zaalbar, on the other hand, slowly removed himself from his seat and went to go get involved in the conversation. I shmoozed myself into his place.

Mission drew and picked up a 6. Her total was now 16. I drew a 2 and it added to Zaalbar's 14. We were even.

She glanced up for the briefest of moments before drawing again. She got a 2 and held her 18. "When'd you get here?" She asked herself more than me distractedly.

"Few seconds ago." I answered just as uncaringly. I picked up an 8 and cursed the deck. Zaalbar only had two useable cards left, and neither of them were subtractables. Frack.

I looked at her face to see if she were about to gloat, but all I saw was concentration. She started a new game without even the slightest bit of care that she had won.

"Are you okay?" I asked, now completely taken away from the game.

She looked up and her eyes stayed glazed over for the next few minutes before she shook her head a little and seemed to come to. "Oh. Yeah, I'm fine. I just have alot on my mind right now."

Hmm.

A series of growls and grunts interrupted what I was about to ask.

_"I guess that leaves me out of the equation, then."_ Zaalbar growled. It truly was mesmerizing, you know. His voice was rough, but it held such a beautifully enthralling cadence that you wanted to listen for hours, even if you couldn't understand or care for what he was saying.

Revan sighed and nodded. "Well, since Bastila could in no way play the role of slave.."

Bastila let out a retort that was immediately snuffed. "Shut it. You couldn't play the role." She repeated, this time more forcefully. Bastila glared for a few seconds before sighing and calming herself. "I suppose with my recent attitude you would think that naturally. I apologize."

Ever the bipolar.

"That leaves me with..." Revan started, only to be interrupted by Bastila. "However. I am more than willing to play the role of slave as long as it allows me to ensure the safe arrival of a transport off this planet."

Revan sighed long and hard. "You just don't get it. If you go, you won't be 'ensuring' anything. _I'll_ be the one doing all the business, not you."

Bastila seemed a little upset at this, but didn't say anything and instead seemed to retreat into thought.

_Scheming, probably._

"So that leaves me with Carth." Revan concluded.

Carth was about to say something, but I beat him to it. I snapped up and gave her an unbelieving look. "What about me? ?" I demanded.

She gave me a look. The one that people usually give you when they're thinking: Duhh. Isn't it obvious? Or: Your idiocy is exasperating.

"You'd be far too loud and cause problems. If you had been listening you would have known that."

I stood up and threw my arms in the air. "Of course. We're back to cold shoulderness. Did that bonding time mean nothing to you? Sigh." Yes. I SAID sigh. I believe I've gone over this before.

Revan rolled her eyes and again I could have sworn I saw her mouth curve up. But it was only for an instant and then it was gone, so I couldn't be sure.

"I will go into the Sith base with the droid today, get the codes, then return to Canderous. Any questions?"

I walked up to her. "Nope. No questions. Because you won't find a way to get rid of me for the Sith base. I'm coming with you."

Revan sighed. "I guess I don't have a choice, do I?" She looked up at everyone else, "Okay. I'd like most of you to stay here. I'm hoping to do this inconspicuously, so the less people the better."

I wish I could think before I talk. "The less people? ? Hell! I'd be marchin' up there with blasters a'blazin' if I could! I mean, you don't expect to fight a dark Jedi alone, do you? There's no way you could sneak past him. He has the Force. He'll know your there anyway."

If people weren't listening to me before, they were now. And they all looked intriguingly interested(well, Carth looked suspicious, but hey. What's new?).

Zaalbar was the first to speak up._ "Dark Jedi?"_

Then the most unexpected thing ever happened.

"Well, yes," Bastila spoke up, taking a tiny little bit of a step forward to further join the group. "I would suspect Taris has at least a few Dark Jedi laying around. I mean, this is a Sith ruled planet! You can't expect there _not_ to be Jedi."

"Common or no, I think she knew more than just a little bit about it." Carth interjected.

And from there on out it was like I was on a spinning wheel. My gaze went from Revan to Bastila to Carth back to Revan then to Carth and then over again.

"Kid's have large imaginations." Revan clarified.

Carth scoffed. "Yeah, well, in my experience that kind of 'imagination' leads to betrayal."

Revan put her hands on her hips. "Yeah, well, in my experience your paranoid." She said much louder than was necessary.

"Children, please! Calm yourselves." I said, arms raised like a referee. "We are getting nowhere. Whoever is going to go to the Sith base, come. The way I figure it, it's not like we have much choice if your set on going, anyway. I mean, what are we going to do? Stop you? Like I could face a Wookiee?" I gestured to Zaalbar for good measure. "So you guy's can stay around here and bicker all you want, but I'm leaving." And with that I turned to go out the door.

"You don't even know how to get to the droid shop!" Revan hollered from behind the open door.

"How hard can it be?" I threw back at her.

/ / / / /

"Okay. I get it. This must be Karma. Or maybe Jynxing yourself. So I said it'd be easy. I was wrong." I rambled to myself, completely and utterly lost.

Almost the moment I had walked four steps away from the apartment, it was as if it disappeared and the world suddenly became extremely bigger. So now I was walking around aimlessly, hoping I would stumble upon the droid shop.

In my reverie, I hadn't noticed where I was going(that's kind of the point of 'walking aimlessly and being utterly lost'). I ran smack dab into someone much bigger than me, and I wasn't even the one to fall over. The other person did.

"Ah! Kriff, I'm sorry!" I murmured, holding out a hand to help the other person up.

It was a male. A really stinky male. He smelled like a weird kind of alcoholic drink and his face was all oily and sweaty. He had bags under his eyes and the eyes themselves looked glazed over.

_Oh god, no._

"Y..." He drawled out the 'yeh' sound, "Y...YyyyyOU! Shlummie!" He tried to get up, but the most that happened was his arms flailed around and he fell over on his side. "Ghet off eh shreets!"

I took a step back from him and let him flail about himself. "Ew." Was the only thing that came out of my mouth before I stepped over him and went about my way.

A few minutes of wandering and I was still lost.

I sat down and sighed hopelessly. "Okay, Revan. I was wrong. I can't find my way to the droid shop."

And then hope came walking somewhere ahead of me - in the form of an easy-to-see-in-a-crowd orange jacket.

I jumped up immediately. "Oh, thank the Force for Carth's choice of coloured clothing!" And with that I sprinted up to them, not wanting to lose sight of my only hope of not being lost.

_Geez. I never noticed before, but we're really not an inconspicuous-looking group. I mean, a Twi'lek, a Wookiee, an orange-jacket-clad Republic Pilot, a Jedi and a former Sith Lord. Nope. The Sith aren't keeping an eye on us at all!_ Which was total bullcrap. Because, I mean, even just walking around, the shining Sith patrols had to take a second glance at the group.

When I got up to them, Revan seemed to notice immediately. "What took you so long?" She asked.

I shrugged and tried not to make my heavier-than-normal breathing too apparent. "Oh, you know. I had to run some errands first."

Revan raised an eyebrow. "Is 'running errands' always going to be your excuse for being missing?"

Walking right beside her, I shrugged indignantly. "What would you like to hear? Other excuses?"

Revan rolled her eyes, and AGAIN I could swear I saw those fine lips curve upward. "Well, maybe more elaborate ones. The 'running errands' is going to get real old, real quick. Can't you come up with something more, I don't know, thought out?"

I shook my head, but I couldn't control my lips turning up into a smirk. "Your going to judge everything I do no matter _what_ is it, aren't you?"

Revan threw her head back and laughed. "Ha! Maybe a little bit of_ criticism_ here and there..."

"Criticism! You've got to be the most difficult female in the galaxy."

This time it was Carth's turn to chortle. "Difficult? This woman's the most stubborn person I've ever met!"

"Ain't that the truth? ?" I asked him with wide eyes.

By this time everyone in the group was showing some kind of humorous reaction(even Bastila!).

A few minutes later we were in the droid shop.

"2,000 credits? !" Revan asked incredulously.

The Twi'lek behind the desk seemed a little nervous when she nodded sheepishly. _"I-I am sorry. I do not think I could lower the price even for a friend of Canderous'."_

I sighed and moved Revan out of my way. "Here." And threw appropriate amount of credits on her desk.

I turned to T3 lovingly. "Okay, T3. Come on! We got work to do." And promptly turned to leave, T3-M4 following behind.

Revan quickly caught up with me. "What was that? !" She demanded.

I looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "Me buying T3?"

Revan gestured back at the droid shop. "No! THAT. Where'd you get all those credits from? !"

I shrugged again. "Eh. There are some people - namely Quarrens - on Taris that are rich and end up in bad situations."

Revan shook her head. "I can't say I've_ ever_ met_ anyone_ like you before."

I grinned at her. "Nope. And you never will." And it's true. How many other people in the galaxy 'know the future' and travel with Revan and whatnot?

A few seconds later we were some yards away from the base hiding behind some swoops. "Kriff. They put guards at the door." THAT was unexpected.

"Beep-beep boop?" T3 rang.

I shook my head and sighed. "No. See, we're not actually supposed to be IN the base... That's why we need you." Little did I know at the time that I needed T3 far more than I could ever know. "So you can see why we can't just walk in. If those guards see us we'll be toast. If the guards DON'T see us we'll be toast. Either way we're a yummy breakfast."

"Deet-deet?"

"Oh. Um.. Well... Toast is.. Well it's... I dunno. It's food." I answered awkwardly.

"Why don't one of us just put on a stealth generator and sneak past them when the door opens?" Mission suggested.

I shook my head, even though Revan was obviously going to say something. "No, we can't do that. How long would we have to wait until the door opens? Hang on. Just gimme a minute to think."

The group argued and talked and planned quietly amongst themselves while I did so.

_"If we take out the officers then there won't be a problem getting in."_ Zaalbar brought up.

Revan shook her head this time. "Yeah, but if this is an 'inconspicuous' mission, how do you think a couple dead soldiers at the front door would look when whoever is out comes home?"

"Well... we don't have to _kill_ them," Mission interjected.

Carth's turn. "Mission's right. While I don't favour the Sith at all, I don't like the idea of manslaughter. That would make us no better than them."

I groaned loudly. "Will you people shut up? I'm tryna think here!"

Revan rolled her eyes.

I don't know why, but for some reason when she did that it made a brilliant idea come to mind. "Hey, wait! I've got an idea."

"Well, let's hear it, miss 'I can't think with noise'," Revan said.

I ignored her comment. "Bastila. Why don't you use the Force to put in the idea that one of the guards should go inside to get something from the armoury. When the door opens, Mission can go in after him and slice into the secretary's computer and send gases through the floor vents. It won't kill any of the soldiers, but it'll at least send them unconscious. I'll go with her. While the first guard is going to get something, I'll convince the secretary to tell the other guard he's needed somewhere. Bastila can use the Force to help him accept this as true. Then the secretary will leave and I'll show you guy's the way to the launch codes."

Revan raised her eyebrows. "That's actually not a bad idea, so long as the secretary complies."

Carth shook his head. "I don't like how much we're relying on the Force. Maybe we should think of something different."

Bastila stood indignant. "And just how would you rather have it, Carth? We all rely on the Force far more than you seem to think."

Carth frowned at her. "All I'm saying is I don't like it. And how do we know this secretary's even going to help us, anyway? She could run off and tell the Sith what we're up to!"

I shook my head at him. "Carth, you have to trust me. I know the girl who works as the secretary, okay? She's trustworthy."

He shook his head, obviously still not liking any of this.

Bastila turned her attention to the guards and seemed in deep concentration. A few minutes later one of the guards turned to the other one. Bastila withdrew from her concentration and looked well pleased. "That guard had already been thinking he needed a shine-up. I just made it seem unbearable to deal with any longer."

I nodded. "Good work. Keep tabs on him while we're in there for a little while just in case he get's cold feet. Okay, Mission. We need to go." I glanced at the guard, who was turning towards the door. "Now."

I flipped on my stealth generator and she did the same. We both practically ran to the door, though the reality of it was we could only jog in order to keep our generator's at the best capacity.

We made it in before the door closed.

_"You! What are you doing, leaving your post?"_ The Twi'lek (who was again not green nor even yellow - she was blue) secretary demanded.

The guard shook his head at her. "I.." He seemed uncertain. Then, just like the change in the wind, he stood up straighter. "I need to go get a shine-up. As you can see, it's become beyond unbearable. The master would surely be displeased if he saw it." And with that he left without even letting the secretary say any more.

The woman seemed perturbed at his attitude and was about to call something after him, when I walked up to her and put a finger on her lips. "Ssssssshhhh..." I said slowly.

Her eyes widened, and she indeed did not say anything.

"Don't panic. I'm a good guy. Me and my entourage have come to take down this place. I need you to call the other guard out and tell him he's needed urgently in the medical bay. If he asks why tell him you weren't told, but that the commander ordered it."

This all seemed to process in the girl's sky grey eyes. When she was finally done apparently thinking this through, her eyes narrowed a bit. _"I always knew the Sith would pay for their crimes. I'll do as you ask... Just let me leave before you bomb this place."_

I nodded firmly, something which was lost on her since she couldn't see me. "Can do."

She dialed something on the desk in front of her, and a few seconds later the guard from outside walked in. _"Your needed in the medical bay,"_ She said sternly.

You could tell even through his mask that he was suspicious. "Why?" He asked.

The Twi'lek lifted her chin up and looked at him like a reprimanding mother about to say, 'Don't question me, just do it!'

_"I wasn't told. However, I doubt you should keep the commander waiting."_

I imagined his eyes bulging out of his sockets like a cartoon character as he jogged off a few moments later.

"Thank you. You've done a great thing today."

The Twi'lek shook her head. _"I don't know about that, but I'm definitely getting out of here."_

I shrugged and let her leave. When she was gone, Mission walked up to me and began punching in codes and such for the Sith's gasic surprise. "What was that all about?" She asked.

Neither of us took off our generators. "What do you mean?" I replied.

"You said you knew her."

I shrugged, another effect that was lost on her. "Eh, well.. We're acquaintances."

I imagined her giving me an incredulous look. "You mean you didn't really know her? What if she just ran off to go get help?"

I began to shake my head then stopped. She couldn't see me anyway. "She didn't. I promise. If it makes you feel any better, you can close and lock up the doors when the rest of our group get's here."

Which was now. The moment I said that, everyone else filed into the room.

Revan walked up to me as if she blatantly knew I was there and then poked me on my shoulder. My stealth generator flickered off.

"Well, aloha!" I said up to her. "Nice of you to join us." I then turned to Carth smugly. "See? My plan worked."

Carth shook his head and Mission took off her generator. "Not quite. We don't even have the codes yet."

Just then a series of muffled chokes and groans came to us from behind many closed doors.

"Done. Now lead the way," Mission said to me.

I nodded. "No problem." And with those words, sped off towards the entrance.

Halfway to the room with the Duros in the prisoner field I spoke up. "Now be aware that they have some droids here. So get ready to fight if you have to." I informed them. Everyone commented an affirmative, be it in grunts or actual words.

When we got to the Duros prisoner, I wasted no time in freeing him. I quickly turned all the switches to red and then shooed him away. "Your free. Run." He did so.

I then led the way to the elevator leading to the Dark Jedi.

"What was that? ?" Revan asked, coming up to join alongside me.

"You know, I'm beginning to think that's the only question you guy's will ever ask me." I told her.

She frowned at me. "Answer the question."

I shrugged mid-jog. "There was an innocent prisoner. I freed him."

Revan frowned even deeper. "But you couldn't have known he was innocent. Plus, how did you know switching all the consoles to red would free him?"

I threw my head back and sighed. "You ask too many questions. If you must know, he's the cousin of a friend of mine. I knew that was the room they keep their prisoners, and I knew that he had been taken hostage for no good reason, so I freed him upon sight."

Revan's frown didn't go away. "And you just happened to know it was him without looking."

"I looked."

Revan shook her head. "That doesn't explain how you knew how to free him."

I sighed again. "It's common protocol. Anyone could do it without much knowledge on freeing prisoners."

Revan's frown calmed a little, but she still seemed unhappy with her interrogation. "Then tell me something."

I looked at her. "Anything."

"What was his name?"

I froze. Mission almost bumped into me from the sudden stop. I looked at Revan blankly for a few nanoseconds before I said the first thing on my mind. "Bob." And with that I continued to jog.

/ / / / /

There it was.

Right there in front of me. My destiny.

The key to survival and, at the moment, most precious thing in the Universe.

"Are you going to open the elevator door or do I have to remove you so I can?" Revan grouched.

I shot her a fake dirteye and opened the thing.

_Well. This'll be fun. I always loved killing Dark Jedi. Sigh._


	10. I think Gadon COULD be a pedophile!

**Okay, some news. Pay attention, people!**  
><strong>First of all: Don't ghostread! D: It makes the author sad. <strong>  
><strong>Second (And this is uber important DX): Tell me. Should I drag on and add all the little bits (like 3 or 4 more chapters worth) of Taris or should I just skip to the poor planets decimation?<br>**

* * *

><p>My tension grew more and more as the elevator went deeper and deeper into the Sith base.<p>

How powerful was this guy in reality? I guess I'd find out.

Several minutes passed.

"Well..." I started, impatience already in high gear. "I guess we better hope we don't have to make a quick escape. This thing would never get us out of here soon enough."

Carth snorted. "Tell me about it. I've been on older, much more used elevators than this and they didn't move this slow."

I 'mm'd' in response. A few more minutes passed. I stomped a foot. "Dammit! Why is this thing moving so slow? ! I mean, the elevator engineers didn't even have the decency to put in elevator music!"

And that was when the elevator doors opened.

And guess what? You know how in the game there's a door so before you enter the room to fight the badguy you can save? There was none.

_Frack._

The grey, bald man meditating on the floor grinned without opening his eyes. He readied a metal article resting in his hand and stood, looking distinctly at Bastila in the eyes. "I've been expecting you."

_Uh... Creeper alert!_

And without saying anything else in his guttural voice, he long jumped over to the Jedi Knight with a speed so swift I barely even caught it with my eyes.

It was then that my hope left me entirely. And I'll tell you why.

The only thing I saw was a flash of red against yellow, and then the two Jedi were fighting neck-to-neck.

He had a lightsaber.

If not for the growing panic and fear I felt, I probably would have groaned from exasperation. I mean, how many_ more_ surprises were going to be thrown at me?

Speaking of being thrown..

Me, along with the rest of my teammates except Zaalbar and Revan, were thrown back against the walls; Bastila and the man still fighting as if nothing had happened. Okay, Carth wasn't exactly thrown back, but he did get some good stumbling action.

Unfortunately for me, however, I hit my head on the elevator. The world blacked out in separate pieces for a few seconds before it came back and stayed completely, only now it was spinning. I stood up and almost fell over, and with that almost falling over I felt the horrible need to vomit.

From my horrible vision I saw Mission slumped on the side of the wall to my left. I stumbled and tried to get over to her on two feet, then gave up on that and resorted to crawling. I blinked rapidly and tried to make sense of what was going on around me.

Through the ringing in my ears I heard Revan yelling out something that distinctly sounded like gibberish that I couldn't make sense of.

I groaned and bent over next to Mission's unconscious form. The loudest sounds were footsteps running up to me, and in the background there were the war cries of a Wookiee.

"Are you alright?" Came Carth's voice right next to me. He seemed to be talking really really fast and I had to struggle to keep up with him. I felt a warm hand rest on my shoulder and at that moment it felt like a billion tons being heaved onto me. I groaned again.

"Oh no," Carth's voice came again, this time sounding worried but still very fast. "I think you have a concussion," He told me. His words barely registered in my mind. I nodded and smiled at him in an attempt to get his million-ton hand off my shoulder, but only made myself more dizzy and I ended up falling on my side.

He did a weird waggle of his head and uttered something I didn't understand before he then stood up and left me to fight the Dark Jedi.

I groaned again. Mission didn't move. I prayed she wasn't dead.

With this thought, I moved to sit up again. The world spun in a rapid motion around me and it took a few seconds to actually achieve my petty goal, but I made it. I then leaned heavily on the wall Mission was propped up against and stared long and hard on her face. I focused with all my might, ignoring everything around me and shutting off the world just to focus on getting the world to stop so I could see her face properly.

It took a good few minutes, but the world gradually slowed enough that I could see her. She wasn't dead, that much was for sure. I felt relief before then turning my dizzy gaze to the fight going on in the world around me. In the circular room ahead, Bastila was in an intense fight with the Dark Jedi while Revan was trying to use a sword as an axe to cut off the 'head' of a nearby turret.

_Were those there before? I don't remember those being there before. Maybe they were. What's that Dog's name again?_

While I contemplated what the overgrown 'Dog's' name was and why he was wearing suspenders, my hands and arms seemed to be moving involuntarily. One of them - my right - grabbed a blaster tucked at my waist and started shooting rapidly at the fight, apparently not having enough brain to aim at anything as long as it made it in the room itself.

A warbled voice came to me. I took a few seconds to ponder what it was saying, my involuntary arm still shooting like Hell. Eventually I came to a conclusion. "What are you doing? !" Someone had asked. I distinctly remember wondering what they were talking about.

I heard a voice that sounded weirdly like mine answer, "Whhaddyya meaan?" It sounded slow, almost noiseless, and slurred. It couldn't have been mine.

And then it was like the world suddenly came partially back into focus. The world stopped spinning quite so much and I could even make out what the people in front of me were doing; though I still didn't seem to get that Zaalbar was not a dog.

I had accidentally threw a blaster bolt straight at Bastila and she had been forced to quickly back away from her sparring and deflect the bolt. Being so, the Dark Jedi had no idea why she withdrew from him so quickly mid-swing until it was too late. He only became aware of the situation mere seconds before the blaster bolt accidentally met his forehead.

Everything moved in slow motion. The turrets were no more and Revan turned just in time to see the accidental events transpire. Bastila's face was a forever mask of unmoving shock and Carth's expression was substantially the same thing. All of these small happening's gyrated around one thing: the ever slow-moving form of the immediately-dead Dark Jedi. He fell as if he were thrown into water and his form would not sink. Gradually, though, he fell to his knees in front of Bastila's still-shocked form, as if he were about to plead her something.

And then it was over. The world came back into full spin and he fell over like a racing car to the finish line.

And when he fell, so did I.

Then the world no longer shared company with me.

/ / / / /

The first thing I noticed was that there was no far-off humming of a speeder or swoop somewhere. The stench of death and decay did not fill my nostrils, nor did the feeling of darkness rolling off the people in the vicinity. I wasn't at the Hidden Bek Base, nor was I at my home in Colorado. There was no fan going off in my room neither were there soft noises of my family coming from a nearby room. I had a horrible headache.

_Well._ I thought snidely, _This seems familiar._

I opened my eyes and met dull gray ceiling.

_Yep. Definitely familiar._

I offered myself the leisure of groaning and sat up.

"Why do I always wake up like this?" I mumbled, then soon regretted it as every syllable of a word stabbed pain into my skull. I resorted to rubbing my temples and scanning my surrounding's. I was in the apartment I had spent the last three day's in with my crew, but no one seemed to be home.

I felt panic rise up in my heart before I forced myself to dampen it. _Calm yourself. They didn't leave without you. If they had, the two bed's laid out on the floor wouldn't still be here and the planet wouldn't, either._

I swung my leg's over the low bed and felt my own bare feet touch the cold metal ground and gasped. I whipped my head down to look at my lack of stocking's and saw fit-to-the-leg's, stretchy, comfortable tan legging's where my fishnet should have been. I gasped again and swiftly stood up and ran to the refresher. In the muddy mirror I saw a slightly warbled image of myself and grimaced. "Oh, no," I murmured to myself, "I'm wearing those awful tarisian clothes in the game!"

I ran out back into the main room(and quite frankly, the _only_ other room) and began the hopeless search for my previous clothing.

A few minutes later Mission and Zaalbar walked in.

"Hey, your awake!" Mission cried.

I guiltily turned to her in mid-crouch(I had been attempting to find something under Revan's bed).

"We came in to check on you before we head down to the Lower City. Wanna come?" She offered.

I stood and looked at her incredulously, holding up a hand to stop her question. "Hold the phone," Another saying people here didn't seem to get. "Before I answer anything, tell me something: where are my clothes? ?"

Mission's mouth unnaturally twitched upward before she finally gave way and it turned into an all-out grin. "Alora 'disposed of them'. Apparently they were too filthy to keep around." She explained.

I looked at her in utter despair. "My.. My clothes..!" If there was a face to put with this, I'd say it would have to be this: D:

Mission chuckled and grabbed my arm to lead me to the bed I had woken up on. "Come on," She drawled the last word, "It's not that bad. Get on your shoes and come with us; it'll be fun!"

I did as she told me to and from then on was not allowed to continue moping.

And you know what? Through all this I forgot to ask where everyone else was.

/ / / / /

"Ohh no. No way. I am _not_ going down there again." I declared a few yards away from the elevator to the Undercity.

Mission tried to pull me with her. "Come on. The Sewers aren't _that_ bad." She tried to convince me.

I shook my head at her deliriously. "Not that bad? I almost passed out from the stench before! And besides, do you really want to take the chance of getting captured by Gamorreans again?"

Mission let go of me. "Well, that's the point! I'm gonna go down there and teach them a lesson."

I frowned at her, an eyebrow raised. "Teach them a lesson? You know, a wise old man who's known to wear flagger orange once said: There's only one language Gamorreans ever understand: a blaster shot to the head. So unless your planning to murder the lot of them.."

Mission shook her head. "Of course not. That's suicide. I'm just gonna go down there and.. Y'know. Show them it's not the smartest thing to mess with me."

I tried one more attempt at keeping her from making me go down there unwillingly. "Aren't you worried Zaalbar might get captured again?"

That seemed to make her think for a few seconds, however short it may have lasted. "Well.." She bit her lip and turned to her big friend. She turned back to me again. "No. I wouldn't want to risk Zaalbar getting hurt." She paused for a few seconds before her face rose into determination again. "But I also know that I wanna teach them a lesson. They don't deserve to just walk away like that."

I sighed and leaned against one of the surrounding walls before deciding it was too gross to do so and reversed the movement. Blehck. "Well, I can't argue with that. I mean.. I understand wanting to get revenge."

She nodded as if I would comply with her next statement. "That's why I've decided just now to go alone."

I shook my head and her and scowled after getting over my momentary shock. "No. I reject the idea. You can't go alone."

She put her hands on her hips. "You ain't my mom! You can't boss me around! I'm going, whether you approve or not."

Just as she was about to storm away, I put my hand on her arm and stopped her from doing so. "Please, Mission. Like I'm trying to be your mom. I just don't want you to get hurt. Think about it: if you go alone there's a higher chance of getting kidnapped or hurt. Do you really want to take that risk?"

She didn't look at me or say anything. I waited(gasp! You mean I had a moment of patience?) for her to think it through. After a few minutes she turned around to me, and much calmer, said, "I'll be using a stealth generator. Don't worry about me, okay? I'll be fine."

I sighed and grumbled about it, but I knew full well that she was the sneakiest 14-year-old blue Twi'lek alive. "Okay. Whatever. Be safe, alright?"

She nodded. "Can do. Take Zaalbar to the Cantina or something. I'm sure he'll want something to eat." And with that she left, leaving both of us with a ghost of a smirk.

Once she was completely out of sight I looked at Zaalbar with an eyebrow raised. "You know that I'm not letting her go alone, right?"

He growled a knowing response.

"Well... I guess there's no harm in getting you something to eat before I make you stalk her like a little creeper." I told him. He didn't even find it a LITTLE funny.

_Sigh. Wookiee humour. I obviously don't have it._

It was a long, quiet trip that felt like a little bit of forever. When we got to the Cantina, it was almost barren. I KNEW I'd have to pay the bartender this time.

So while Zaalbar went to get something to eat, I went and found a really really dark corner to avoid people in. Namely bartenders.

Apparently it didn't work so well, because a Duros at a table diagonal from me glanced at my face, seemed to think I was interesting, and then continued to stare for the next five minutes.

_Right now would be a really great time for Zaalbar to get here with his food. Maybe a Wookiee would make that guy quit staring. Pedophiles these days..._

My thoughts seemed to invoke something in him. He stood up and walked across to my table and sat at the chair in front of me.

_Force help me._

_"You..."_ He started.

I stared at him warily(and more than a little creeped out).

_"I recognize you."_ He told me.

I kept my creeped-out/cautious staring.

That didn't seem to damper his spirit at all. He continued, _"You saved me from the Sith when they captured me."_

I felt my jaw drop a little. "Wait, what?" I asked after getting my wits together. "Your that guy I saved? Well... Nice to officially meet you, I guess." I said a little weirdly.

He nodded once. _"Thank you again."_ He glanced around a little, like someone was watching him._ "I'm staying in the Lower City for awhile. It's a place no one could ever find you, if you know where to go."_

I shook my head at myself. "Got that right.." I mumbled._ I doubt anyone's even found Akels' body yet._

_"What was that?_" He asked half-heartedly.

I waved a hand at him. "Oh, nothing, nothing."

A few seconds of awkward silence passed.

_"Well..."_ He said,_ "I better get going. I thank you again for saving my life."_

I could have been a real dick and demanded a reward, but I didn't. I'm just not like that.

However, there_ was_ one thing that kept nagging at me. "Hey - before you go, what's your name?"

He blinked his big rust eyes at me before answering simply, _"Bob."_

I stared at him like he was the most abnormal thing to ever be birthed. "You.. Wait a second. Did you just say your name was BOB? Like, for real? That's your name? Bob?"

He nodded at me,_ "Yes, hu-man.."_ It was apparently his turn to be a little weirded out.

I stared at him and muttered a, "Huh." Even as he strutted off.

Zaalbar joined me a few minutes later. I was still thinking over the odds of Bob when he finished. I didn't even notice he was done until I felt his eyes staring at me(who knows how long he'd been doing so. Hey - you know what I realize? People seem to love to stare at me. Hmm... creepy.)

"Okay," I said, snapping back to reality. "I need you to go down and find Mission. Follow her if you find her and if you don't, keep an eye out for her or any Twi'lek screams regarding about to be sold into slavery. I have some business to take care of."

He seemed only very mildly interested in what my 'business' might be, but he complied(for me, unexpectedly). So once we got out of the Cantina we went our separate way's(kind of. We walked together in comfortable and supremely slight awkward silence for awhile until the Bek Base came and THEN we went separate ways).

Yes, I lied. Again. I didn't really have 'business' to take care of. The truth was that I maybe a teensy weensy little itty bitty bit missed Boc and Gadon and even Zaerdra.

So.. That's where I was heading.

When I got to my destination, though, I found an absence of Gadon or Zaerdra. That put a damper on my hopeful spirit a little bit, but I went off in search of Boc in any case.

And guess what I found, for once? The actual person I was looking for.

He was right around the corner from his workshop, apparently barking orders to some lousy mechanic who was slacking off.

I walked right up to him and poked him on the shoulder from behind. He whipped around with a scowl on his face. _"What? ?"_ He growled.

I grinned in return.

His angry face seemed to dissipate almost immediately, though not completely. "Your back," He declared.

I nodded. "Yep. Just got home." It felt odd and yet right to call it that. Odd because I had spent less time here than I had in the apartment in the Upper City, but right because it felt more at home here. It seemed that way for many people, though it was more surprising for me considering my hatred of germs and grossness - which the Under City was crawling with. "How have thing's been around here?"

He raised a non-existant eyebrow in amusement. "You haven't missed much. Back to bother me about repairs?"

I shrugged. "Nah. Back to bother you about creating."

He snorted. "Of course. Come on," he seemed only partly annoyed with his drawling of words to get me to follow him. He led me back to his workshop. "You came just in time. If you hadn't come I would have to build this myself." He told me, getting a couple datapads from one of the drawers on his working table.

I scoffed half-heartedly. "Of course. The moment you finally accept that I'm not going to leave without learning something is the moment you decide to use me so you can be lazy."

He gave me a fake scowl while getting some parts out of a bin. "Actually, I have a swoop engine to repair. This was just a nuisance on my to-do list."

I raised an eyebrow at him this time. "When _don't_ you have a swoop to repair?"

He snorted again in humor.

"Okay," He said, bringing up all the appropriate parts to me. "This is what I need you to do," And he then went on to explaining thing's to me.

He showed me a metal piece with a circle cut out in it. Then he showed me a more intense-looking piece with a circle that looked like it would go in that place, only the part had a type of wire attached to it. "I need you to connect these two parts and put in all the proper cords and wires in their slots. Here," He put the pieces in my hands and moved them so I could see what he was about to explain. "It's a code, kind of. The green wires go into the yellow slots for this sector, the yellow wires go into the red slots for the sector next to that one, and the orange wires go into the blue slots for the sector next to that one. Get it? I'll explain each wire and slot for each sector."

I blinked first at him, then I blinked at the devices in my hands, then I blinked at my datapad that lay on his desk.

"I am SO gonna have to take notes for this."

/ / / / /

I don't know how many hours passed. Maybe day's passed. Maybe years. But it couldn't have been the last two in any case, because the world would have been destroyed by then.

However long it was, I finished - with a little difficulty and a LOT of references back to the datapad - Boc's project.

What did I make, you ask?

Pff. Beats me.

Hell. Half the thing's I made for him I didn't even know what they were(until later, that is. But by then it didn't matter - the galaxy was shattered in pieces).

"Oh God," I remember saying to myself in a sudden revelation, "What if I just created a device for him to watch porno or something of the like?"

I shivered and slinked out of his workshop, knowing full well (Ha... not really. HOPING full well is more like it) that he wasn't using whatever I created for those kind of purposes.

When I came to the door to the outside of the Bek Base I was met with-

"Oh... My... God. Mission.. What did you do?" I asked the coal-covered Twi'lek with her equally as dirty Wookiee companion.

"We showed'em who's boss!" She declared, completely stoked.

I stared at her in disbelief for a few seconds before I turned to Zaalbar in mock reprimand. "And you just let her do this?"

He opened his mouth to protest but didn't get a word out. "It was fun!" Mission exclaimed, drawing my attention from her furry friend.

"What happened down there, exactly?" I asked.

She shrugged like it was the most boring thing in the world, but her face and her voice clearly shouted that she was smug. "I just set a few trip mines. Nothing special."

I don't know why, but for some reason at that time I found her comment extremely funny.

I burst into hysterical laughter and didn't stop until Mission finally gave way to nonsensical guffaws, too.

"Come on, your a mess," I told her, wiping tears from my eyes(tears! Real tears, right there in my eyes from laughter!), "I'll let you use the shower in my room."

Mission glanced at Zaalbar, smile still on her lips, before looking back at me. "Nah, it's alright. Me and Big Z have our own temporary rooms here."

I blinked at her while it processed. "You do?"

She nodded. "Yup! Gadon let's us stay there when we don't want to deal with the Vulkars and don't have anywhere else to really go. It happened so much that he gave us that room for whenever we needed it."

I heard my thoughts from a few day's previous echoing in my mind._ Gadon's so nice. But why?_

It was that thought that brought the pedophile-alert feeling back into my mind.

_I'm sleeping with a blaster at my side tonight._


	11. The Escape From Taris

When I woke up the next morning, I realized something. I forgot to bring that Igear guy his journals. _Oh well. I didn't like him anyway._

Currently, I was walking around doing nothing. Just exploring, really. It was actually more fun than you would think.

I couldn't find Boc and Mission and Zaalbar had left the Bek Base before I had even woken up. Therefore, the only thing on my to-do list was get some Kolto packs, since apparently THOSE are magical healing substances. Not medpacs.

But I didn't know where to get those. And Zaerdra and Gadon the entire world of Taris were all too busy and stuck up in their own lives to worry about my needs. I know. I sound like a whiner-complainer three year old. Sue me.

So I guess I was partly roaming around in hopes to find a Medical Bay, too.

And then, just as I thought all hope was lost...

_I should really become an actress. Oh wait. I already was. But now I'm in a different dimension. Guess THAT'S screwed over...__  
><em>

But besides my rampant thoughts: Just as I thought all hope was lost...

I ran into Boc.

Not what you were expecting, huh? I'm sure you were probably thinking something amazing was going to happen like banana's were about to fall out of the sky or something.

"Hey!" I called. He continued to speedwalk down the hall and barely glanced at me. He mumbled a response before he quickly said, "I don't have time right now. There's an emergency in the swoop hangar... something about an explosion." And then, as he walked away from me even more speedily, the only thing he left for me were his muttering's of thing's like 'damn kid's...'

_Pbbfft. Well. Fine. I can just find something else to do. No problem._

..Right?

/ / / / /

"Where IS everyone?" I muttered to myself, disheartened. I had made my way to the Upper City and (after maybe perhaps just a little bit getting lost a few times) gone to the apartment the crew shared there in hopes that I would find someone I knew to hang around. Why? Because if the sky suddenly opened and blaster bolts from Hell started penetrating Taris, I needed someone from the crew around me so I could secure a safe escape for myself. Yeah. I know. Selfish. Suck it.

In any case, there was no one in Upper City Taris that I could see, so I had decided I was going to go to the Cantina.

When I got there, though, pazaak was not what caught my interest, this time.

"Oh my God! What do you MEAN Deadeye Duncan won a fight?" I screeched.

The big ole' Jabba the Hut slug in front of me didn't look like he was in the mood to give answers. _"Yes, it is surprising. Lot's of money to be gained, now. Are you here to fight, or are you just wasting my time?"_

I looked at him from the viewscreen and then back again. "It had to be a fluke." I murmured to myself. I turned back to him. "I'm ready to fight if you're ready to let me in the ring! I'm gonna see what this loser's got!"

And I did.

But AFTER I kicked Gerlon two-finger's ass.

How did that go? I got in the ring and exactly as the bell rang (I know right? Bells? That wasn't exactly in the game - I felt like I was in Mortal Kombat or something - 3, 2, 1, GO!), I shot him in the head. Twice.

No, he wasn't harmed(sadly. Okay, he may have been tolerable in the game, but that guy had a foul mouth on him in person!). Turns out, the ring had training blasters and training vibroblades. AND they made you use them. It sucked ass. But I dealt with it.

Anyway, they sure as Hell don't waste time when it comes to rounds. As soon as I wiped the floor with Gerlon, I was on my way to fight Deadeye.

And boy, was it surprising.

I entered the ring with two borrowed training blasters in my hands and made my way towards the center(as far as they would allow, anyway).

As soon as I was in there, I KNEW something was off.

For one thing, Deadeye looked different than his video game counterpart. For another thing, his entire person just felt wrong. And my last argument?

"GODDAMN!" I shrieked, rolling to the side and holding my shoulder.

He didn't entirely suck on the battlefield.

"Owww... Why is it always THIS side?"

Sure, it was a training blasterbolt, but it still hurt like Hell!

I shot as accurately as I could while I basically ran in circles like a madman.

In case you were wondering? Doing that in the game may work, but it doesn't really help in real life.

However, I had a stroke of luck(surprised?) and tripped.

I know. You're probably wondering how that's a good thing. But I assure you, it was. Because when I fell, my blaster jammed up in the weirdest way possible and wouldn't stop shooting. And almost exactly before it exploded from overheating, Deadeye comically jumped up and down clutching his foot, which was now immensely damaged.

Which gave me the opportunity I needed to grab my still functioning blaster and shoot him a bajillion times.

And guess what I found out?

That wasn't Deadeye Duncan.

See, I knew something was off. I brought that to the attention of the referees(yes, they had those) and it turns out it was someone HIRED to be Deadeye Duncan. My guess is it was probably a failed attempt at trying to clean his name up, but that could just be me.

Now, of course I couldn't be sensible and just let this go. I had to go and find out the who and why and how and whatnot.

So when the security left the filthy-looking 'medical bay', I turned off my stealth generator(ha! That thing get's me everywhere!). I sat in front of him and waited while he recovered from his unconscious stupor(they were going to take him away when he woke up - though, from what I could tell, the fat slug in charge of thing's couldn't really give a shit and so he'd be off the hook in no time). It took awhile, but I entered everything all up in my datapad and made a few doodles while I waited.

The sound of groaning was brought to my attention a few short seconds after I had just finished putting a mustache on a ridiculous-looking domo. What is Domo, anyway? A gigantic fuzzy turd?

Seriously. What is the deal with Domo. I don't get it.

"What the Hell happened?" He moaned.

I put away my datapad. "Eh. I just kicked your ass. Nothing special."

He looked up at in me regaining-consciousness alarm. "Who the Hell are you?"

I raised an eyebrow. "I think I should be the one asking that, 'Deadeye'."

He paused before frowning at me, "What the Hell are you talking about?"

I groaned loudly and stood up from my position on the floor next to his bed. "Do you always speak like this?"

He paused again and looked at me in confusion. It took a moment before he swallowed his pride and asked me what was on his mind. "What the Hell are you talking about?" He repeated.

I faked an eye twitch. "That. That right there. Everything you've said so far all has the same format."

His eyebrows drew together. "What the Hell do you mean?"

I stared at him with one eyebrow lower than the other and my mouth agape and said nothing. I just looked at him with that expression on my face.

He just stared at me back, with that same disoriented and confused look.

I finally shook my head and sighed. "Who are you? You're obviously not Deadeye. He's somewhat of an.. Er.. acquaintance of mine."

He scoff-laughed. "Acquaintance? I didn't know anyone was stupid enough to spare the time to talk to him, much less become his 'acquaintance'."

I crossed my arms and scowled at him. "Well, you obviously stopped to spare the time to talk to him. Otherwise you wouldn't be here impersonating him." I widened my eyes in a 'you're crazy' expression and motioned to the wall with my pupils. "I mean, of all the people to pretend to be, you chose _Deadeye_? Surely there's better people to be."

He scoffed. "I don't care who I am, as long as I get paid."

I stared blankly at him for quite a few moments, arms still crossed.

"...Paid?"

He raised an eyebrow this time. "Of course. You didn't think I pretended to be Deadeye for my own pleasure, did you?" He rubbed his forehead. "Although, I wasn't expecting to get beaten by some little girl the first day on the job."

I uncrossed my arms and put them on my hips. "So you were hired to be Deadeye? That's insanity! This is a galaxy turned upsidown! Where in the universe did _Deadeye_ get money to pay an impersonator?" By the end of that little rant I was already turning away from him and talking to myself.

The man shrugged. "Don't know. He didn't tell me."

I turned back to him. "Well..." I looked him quickly up and down and raised my eyebrows at him. "Don't know and don't really care why you told me all that. But whatever. Good luck. I really have no reason to waste my time on you anymore." And promptly left.

I was still turning over all that crazy in my mind while I left the Cantina entirely. When I got outside I barely noticed. When I got halfway to the apartment I barely noticed. When I tripped over a random piece of junk I barely noticed. It wasn't until I ran into the door to the Upper City apartment complex that I actually noticed anything.

"Well, damn," I exclaimed, actually looking around me. "It's dark out. When did that happen? I must have been doodling for a really long time."

Then I actually looked at where I was. And my jaw dropped. "Oh my God! I actually made it to the Apartment Complex! And I wasn't even thinking about it!" I crossed my arms at the door. "Ohhh, no. This is so not fair. Why is it all thing's like this are always done unconsciously when it comes to me?" I shook my head and opened the damn thing. "Ugh. Oh well."

Although, I did take note that my brain took me to the Upper City complex instead of Gadon's place. And thank God it did. Good going, unconscious me! While I love the dark, I would probably have been saying 'Hello' to far more than just the night time, had I attempted to go down below.

Ahem.

With that in mind, I scurried my way to the apartment a little faster than normal.

Huh.

You know how in the game there are two doors for loading caches? You know, like when you entered the Sith Tombs on Korriban, there was another door behind the door you opened? It was like that with all the doors that loaded somewhere. It wasn't actually like that in reality. It was just one door. I say this because that was the first time I had noticed that.

When the door opened, the first thing I saw was a Carth sitting right on my bed.

I closed the door and walked my way up to him, setting my bag down on the bed he was sitting on. It was, after all, MY bed. He would be moving.

"I thought you went with Rev." I said, sitting down next to him.

He was cleaning his blaster. "Nope." He said, not looking up from his work. "She took Bastila."

Was that a tinge of jealousy I heard?

He shrugged. "Where have you been?" He sounded truly interested.

I shrugged this time. "Eh. Places."

He glanced up at me and I smirked a little bit.

"What about you?" I asked.

He closed his blaster. "Eh. Places."

I grinned.

"So. You know Deadeye Duncan?" I asked as he put away his cleaning gear.

He glanced up at me with an eyebrow raised. "That horrible fighter in the dueling ring? Yeah, I've heard of him."

I kicked off my shoes. "He hired an impersonator to fight for him. Interesting, quite honestly. I don't know where he could have gotten the money for it."

He hummed and seemed to be in thought about it for awhile before he shook his head a little and brushed it aside. He turned to look at me and appeared to examine my face for a few moments before his eyebrows creased. "Could I ask you something?"

I pulled my legs up to my chest and shrugged. "Sure."

He turned to me a little, one hand resting on his knee and the other relaxed on his right leg. Two very familiar strands of middle-aged hair flopped around on his forehead as he moved to look at me better. "It's just something that's been bugging me. I'm curious."

Uh-oh. This can't be good.

"Those guards in the Vulkar base... You killed them, didn't you?"

Oh. Well that could've been way worse.

"What gave it away? Was it the reckless manner in which it was done? Perhaps I should have bought some flowers beforehand to place on their corpses." I tapped my chin thoughtfully.

He rolled his eyes, but I know I saw his mouth twitch upward. "Very funny. You should try cracking those jokes at the Cantina. You may actually get some tips, then."

I laughed humorlessly. "Ha-ha-ha. And maybe you should try smiling once in awhile. What was the point of this question, again?"

He let out a half laugh, half sigh and stared very intently at the durasteel floor beneath his boots. "What I was trying to ask, was..." He looked me in the eyes as he continued on, "That wasn't your first time killing someone. Was it?"

It didn't sound like a question, but more like a statement.

How easily I could have lied. I could have gone on and played the little kicked puppy routine and been all, "Of course it was! Dear God, it was awful. I'm scarred."

But I didn't.

And why I told him the truth, I'll never know.

"No." I responded, complete seriousness enveloping my expression. "It wasn't."

He nodded curtly and said nothing more on the subject.

His question was never brought up again and I was never bugged about it later. I sometimes wonder if it wasn't just a very realistic dream.

Then again, if that was a dream, I suppose all of this might as well have been.

/ / / / / /

**TESSA DATAPAD LOG: 165490**

_Day 5 without Revan in our party. I never realized how boring life could be without a former Sith Lord in it._

_Did you know Gizka is a rare treat over here? If I didn't know Taris was going to be bombed soon, I'd see if I couldn't set up someone to buy off all those Gizka from Tatooine for me. Although, it makes me curious. Maybe we should have grilled Giz-ke-bobs sometime on our trips._

_In any case, I've found pleasure in beating everyone in the dueling ring (even if I** did** pass out quite a few times). Found pleasure in the credits, too._

_I finally figured out how to get up and down from the Lower and Upper cities. It would figure I'd know how to do it right before the place is bombed. Hmph._

**TESSA DATAPAD LOG: 165491**

_Do you know what I discovered today? ! Carth had a comm on him all this time and he didn't even tell me! He's been sneaking in updates from Revan all this time and I didn't even know. Humph! No one tells me anything around here. I always have to get the information on my own._

_Well, we'll see who has the last laugh when I reverse-engineer his_ power converter for the flash suppressor on his blaster pistol. Ha!__

/ / / / / /

"I'm beginning to think we'll _never_ get off this planet, Carth." I moaned, my right arm laying lazily over my eyes.

"These thing's take time. I'm sure Alora and Bastila are doing everything they can in their position."

"Yes. I'm sure they're getting lots of scented oils rubbed into their delicate skin by sexy skimpy-dressed servants and drinking all the Tarisian Ale they can ingest. Very useful."

"Th-"

"And I don't like this place,_ anyhow_." I whined, sitting up. "It stinks like raw garbage and the people are rude and I get lost a lot and everything's expensive and the clothes are plain and boring and gross and moldy and you can't get a good meal here and the job wages suck and-"

_ "Rawr." _Cried Zaalbar from across the room. 'Rawr' in a sense, anyway. I couldn't understand what he was saying, so I assume he was just growling to complain. _"Your voice. It's worse than Mission when she talks about how I need a bath. It makes my head hurt."_

I threw my hands up into the air. "And that's not even the worst part!" His comment was ignored. "It's chilly here and there's nothing to do and the nobles are snobby and the aliens are grumpy and then there's that anti-alien freak out on the corner who never shuts up and-"

_"Pzzzt!"_

Carth seemed calmly eager to turn away from my ranting and to the strange beeping coming from his pack.

"Carth. Carth, can you read me?_ Pzzzhht!_"

I don't think I'd ever been so happy to hear such a staticky voice before.

"It's Revahhh-lora!" I cried, scrambling to get closer to the sound as if it were a lifelink (funny, because it was).

Carth struggled to untangle the blankets that held his pack hostage so he could get to the comm. I shoved him out of the way (a.k.a. onto the floor) as soon as I got over there and threw the blankets entirely off the bed. "HANG ONNN! I'M COMING FOR YOUUU! BREATHE! YOU WON'T BE TRAPPED FOREVER! I'LL UNBURY YOU!"

I think I might have accidentally broken the button holding Carth's pack closed when I tore it open and dumped it out. Rations, blaster equipment, a few credits and other assorted things all fell out and made a gigantic mess.

"Rev! Rev, are you there?" I cried, searching through the junk to try and find the comm.

"You guy's need to get out of there - now. Thing's aren't looking pretty." Just then-

BOOM!

I was knocked off my knees and onto my stomach from the floor hurdling underneath me.

"We've got the Ebon Hawk - get outside!" Another belch from the ground. "_NOW_!"

I looked around to everyone in the room - thank the Force that everyone had decided to stay put today. "You heard the woman! Come on!" And then tried to crawl my way to the door.

And then I stopped.

"OhmyGod! No! Wait! I can't leave without my bag!" I whipped back around and speed-crawled my way over to my bed. As soon as I had gotten my hands on my belonging's, another crash resounded in my ears - this one louder than the ones previously.

Smoked choked up my lungs almost immediately after that.

"Ugh!" I covered my face with my arm and coughed as if I had just eaten a fly.

"Come on!" Carth's voice called out to me.

I didn't want to open my eyes. The smoke hurt.

I stretched out a hand and felt the open air, not really expecting to find anything and doing it more for show, hoping someone would see it and grab onto it.

And someone did.

I was pulled roughly off the ground, bag safely secured around my other arm, and shoved through a hole that led to fresh air.

I looked around. Taris was in ruin. People were screaming and running around like a movie scene. It was amazing and horrifying all at once.

"This... This is unreal." I murmured, taking in the tragedy around me.

Upon looking, I saw that the Sith had shot through our apartment and created an escape hole straight to outside.

"You'll have time to think on it later, now let's go!"

Before I knew it Carth had taken a hold on me again and was dragging me towards some unknown destination.

Then I saw it. Coming right out from behind a Star Wars skyscraper was the Ebon Hawk in all it's shiny new glory.

Me, Carth, T3, Mission, Zaalbar and Canderous were all still traveling forward when the Ebon Hawk reached us. It hovered just a few yards above the ground and the loading ramp was open. Revan stood at the top.

"Come on!" She yelled, waving ravenously for us to come nearer.

We all made a break for it and jumped on in single file like kindergardeners ready to recieve candy.

Carth was the last one on, making sure everyone was safe and secure before he saved himself.

"GO! GO! GO!" She yelled. It was the only sound I was able to hear above the deafness in my ears and the sounds from outside. Her and Carth sprinted to the cockpit while the rest of us strapped ourselves to the nearest chair.

Let me just tell you this: riding in the Ebon Hawk for the first time? It was the coolest thing ever. EVER.

It was like... Being on a plane, a rollercoaster and a swing all at the same time. It was calm and yet it was so... Thrilling.

And me, being myself, of course put my hands up as if I were on a Disneyland ride.

"Wheeee!"

A few momentos later, the turbulence ended and Revan came running through the main hold and I unbuckled myself to see the action going on in the cockpit. But not before Revan cried, "They're shooting at us!"

I stumbled a bit on my way to the action room. Apparently, getting shot at causes the ship to wiggle.

I gotta say. Being able to look outside and see stars - REAL stars! - was absolutely the most beautiful I've ever seen. It was indescribable. My breath was taken away.

I fell rather than sat down on the back seat behind Bastila. Whether it was from the blow from an attacking ship or the weakness of my knees from the view, I don't know.

"They're off our backs! Going into hyperspace!" Carth declared.

I held onto my seat in apprehension. This was the coolest moment of ever. Hyperspace. What every geek dreams of experiencing. And I got to.

But I'll bet you're wondering what it was like.

It was... Interesting.

The blur of almost slow-motion blue fuzzed up the stars I so craved and I was sent backwards into my chair as if I had been pushed. And then it was as if nothing had happened. Everything was normal, except for the swirly hues of azure outside the window. It was silent. The only sounds for a few long moments were the sounds coming from the ship itself.

And then a deep sigh of relief flew out from Carth. I knew exactly how he felt. Relaxed. Relieved. Thankful.

Finally. It was over. We were safe.

...For now, anyway.


	12. Mini: The Intermission

Looking back, I realize I was very fortunate not to have gone deaf from all the bombing that had gone on in Taris before we escaped. I thanked advanced turret systems (that was the best I could come up with to thank).

Carth's chair slowly turned around when Revan's footsteps came closer to us from down the hall. They sounded slow and heavy, as if they had walked for so long that they had become a monotonous autopilot without life.

"That was fun." I stated. My words were like hammers banging on the silence, and I'm pretty sure I saw Carth cringe near the eye a little bit at them.

"That was _exhausting_." Revan corrected. She fell rather than sat herself down on the chair adjacent to mine. A tired sigh came out of her lips. "What now?" She asked, leaning her head back and stretching out her legs.

"Sleep?" I suggested. It really looked like she needed it.

I never thought that going into Davik's lair would be so taxing on a person's body. Apparently, it wasn't all cheese and icecream like in the game (which makes me wonder... Does Star Wars have icecream? Hmmm...). Where her face looked at least a little rested and well-ready for battle before, there were dark circles underneath her eyes, as if she hadn't slept in the week that she was gone. If it was possible to age supersonically, she had done it.

"We should set a course for Dantooine. There's a Jedi Enclave there where we can take refuge." Bastila declared, standing up.

"Wait a minute," Carth frowned, snarky-sounding attitude being relit. "We just got away from a Sith bombardment, and you think the safest place to go to_ now_ would be the Jedi? Don't you think that would be the first place they would look after they find out you're not dead?"

Bastila's eyebrows drew together when she looked at him. "Even the Sith would think twice before laying an attack on Dantooine, Carth. There are more than an adequate amount of Jedi there to fight back if needed."

God, I'd waited forever to bring up these points.

"Right. That would be efficient, except, you know... The Sith would be in the air. And we'd be on the ground. And get shot at. And die. Just a friendly reminder." I shrugged a shoulder as if it were nothing.

The eyebrows drew further together when she looked at me. "_You_ have no place to argue. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't even be here." She didn't sound like a snotty Bastila, she sounded like a war general telling an esteemed recruit to stop complaining.

I raised an eyebrow. "And if it weren't for you,_ none_ of us would be here."

I stood up and shrugged overdramatically. "But it doesn't matter." I threw my hands up as if I were surrendering to the police. "We'll go to Dantooine. We have to recuperate_ somehow,_ and I'm sure your Jedi friends have their robes in a twist over everything that's happened. They'll want to hear from their favourite student."

Bastila huffed, sounding weirdly humbled... in a completely odd and egotistical way. "Please. The council doesn't pick favourites. I am merely a-"

"I wasn't talking about you."

Her eyes flickered to Revan after a few moments.

I yawned and stretched real big as if I were about to do yoga. "Well. Getting bombed was fun. But if you'll excuse me, this wonderful traumatic experience has caused my old bones to become weary. Nappy time. I'll see you in about 7 hours."

It was weird and fantastic all at once to walk through the Ebon Hawk. I knew every nook and cranny of this place in strictly virtual-speaking terms. I'm pretty sure the Ebon Hawk was the only small area in any game that I had played where I had actually stopped to look around. There's normally nothing interesting in small areas, but the Ebon Hawk was different. Why, I don't know. Maybe it was just the simple idealistic image of a famed Dark Lord escaping through the passage of time to the Outer Rim in a vessel so simple that made me intrigued with the ship. Maybe not. A child's mind can think of many reasons to love something so simple (simple. Fuh! Air pilots and rocket scientists all throughout Earth would have a mindgasm if they could get their hands on something like this. And I call it simple).

Instead of going to the dormitory Mission stayed in (which I assumed was going to be the girls quarters for the remainder of our time on the ship), I headed to the opposite one.

I let out a breath when I stepped foot into the room. It seemed so unreal, even still. I kind of wondered which life was real. If I had just imagined Earth and sushi and all the good things in life.

I shook my head. "I can't think like that. I have to remember. I HAVE to remember. For the sake of my own sanity, at best."

A few weeks wasn't going to foil MY mind. No siree.

"I am Kreia." I sat criss-crossed in the middle of the room and set my hands on either knee. "Ommmmm. Watch me float in the air while I meditate."

"Who's Kreia?"

"YAI!" Durasteel cushioned my faceplant as I fell over in shock. I think I have some kind of goat kitten thing going on, there.

"Oops! Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." Missions voice, of course.

"All is well. I was just practicing my lunges. I think I've made significant progress." I pushed myself off the floor into a sitting position. Mission was leaning against the door with her arms folded around her.

"Lunges, huh? Cool." She sounded depressed. And I don't mean, "Ohmygod D: My twix bar just fell out of my hand and into the gross gutter and I don't have any money left! DEPRESSION." I'm talking about, "Oh my god, my world just came apart. Literally."

"I..." What could I say? "Is there anything I can do?" I asked.

"No, it's... It's okay. It's just... Taris is all I've really known, you know? It was my home. And now it's just... Gone!" She shook her head, staring frantically into a space behind me. "Gone..!" She repeated quietly.

"Do you... Need some time alone? I don't know what I can offer, but I'm here for you." And I meant it. Her depression seemed so much more touching in person than what I had experienced through a computer screen.

She shook her head again, softer this time. "I don't know what I need right now. I think I just need some time to think all this over. I knew the Sith were evil, but... To destroy an entire _planet_...!" It looked like she didn't even have the tears to shed.

"You must be going through shock right now." I stood up and led her back to the regular dormitories. "I'm so sorry, Mission. I can't do anything to fix it. But I promise you that Malak will pay for what he did."

"Yeah... I know." She complied with my leading arms with a kind of gentle indifference.

"No. Seriously. I mean it. He's gonna die alone and sad and depressed and it's not going to be pretty. Promise." A picture of him dying all over the Star Forge's floor came to view, with Malak making gurgling sounds that were more amusing than gross.

She didn't seem to know what to say to that.

As I sat her down on one of the beds and kneeled down next to her, I placed a hand on her knee and looked her straight in the eyes, even though they weren't looking at me - they were downcast. "Mission, I need you to know that not all Sith are evil. Sith is a title, not a type of person. Well... Now, anyway. My point is, don't blame the Sith for what happened to Taris. Blame Malak."

She looked up immediately. "What?" She sounded offended. "How could you say that! Malak and his army-"

"Malak and his army did this, yes. That's what I'm telling you. Malak ordered men to destroy the planet and they acted out of fear. Not because they felt some kind of pleasure from the destruction, but because they feared Malak more than they hesitated to comply. Malak was the only one who wanted it. The others were just forced."

It looked as if she were searching for something in my eyes; truth, maybe.

"It's not different than the Republic. If the Republic were in a position to destroy a Sith planet, they would do so. Not because they wanted to, but because they needed to. The leader of the assault might have wanted it because they felt some kind of bitter grudge against them. But maybe the others didn't.

You see, Mission, it isn't a matter of right or wrong or evil and good. It's a matter of duty. Everyone follows a line of it, be you Sith or Jedi or scum or noble. It doesn't matter. There's a code of conduct everywhere you look."

Her lips pressed together and her eyebrows drew near to make a crumpled, downtrodden, sad little kid kind of expression. "Then... Maybe I don't like either of them."

"And you don't have to." I stood up and left, headed for the Garage.

Canderous wasn't in there, as surprising as that may seem. I wondered for a moment if he had even made it onto the ship.

"Bee-deep!"

I jumped into the air like a Shaggy without a Scooby-Doo. "Yikes! Andraste's flaming knickers! Doesn't anyone know how to walk up to someone without sneaking? ?"

"Dee-deet dee?"

I waved a hand at him as if to wave off his comment. "Nah, don't worry about it. It wasn't your fault. I think I'm having trouble hearing thing's right now from all the explosions. If not, then I'm losing my touch, and I should be worried."

The little astromech droid hummed as if to sympathize with me.

I stared at him for a little while and then squinted at his photoreceptors. "Wait a minute. How did you even get on here? You can't jump. Did someone carry you?"

"Dee-dee-deet doo whop! Dweet dee teetee doo!"

"The one with the... Wh... You mean Canderous?"

"Dee-dee-tee-doo?" It was weird to hear a droid struggling to pronounce something. The beeps were slow and differently tuned, like the robot was attempting to sing.

"Why do you have to spell it? Don't you have some kind of beep for names? Droid language is weirder than I thought."

"Beep-bee-dee deet-deet doo!"

"Well, we're going to work on that. I'll figure out a way to program names in there, somehow. Or I'll teach you. Either way, we'll get this process on the run."

I promise you, this little guy was a_ lot_ more engaging than it sounds on paper. It was like talking to a beeping computer or something and actually knowing it had a personality. It was cool. You speak to it and somehow you just know what it means, even if the beeps all sound the same.

"But later. I wanna do a quick check-up on everyone else and then I'm off to bed."

The next place to check was the Cargo Hold.

As soon as I got four feet away from T3, I heard his rolly figure following me. How I didn't hear it the first time, I will never know.

I turned around. He stopped.

"Hmm..."

I continued on my way to the Main Hold. Again I heard him.

I turned around again. There he was, right there behind me. "Hhhhhmmmmmmm..." I raised an eyebrow. Instead of turning back around again, I walked backwards. He followed.

"So... Are we married now?" I wondered to him.

His head (we'll call it that for now) bobbed weirdly. "Dee-deet?"

"Uh... Married. You know, two people have sex, the girl gets pregnant, they get married to avoid the parents wrath? Or, you know, the rare possibility they fall in love first."

"Deee?"

I sigh-laughed. "Don't worry about it. Ask Carth about it later, he'll explain. Are you going to follow me from now on?"

"Dee-deet dee. Tee doo boo dee?"

"I guess you have a point. You're welcome to follow me, if you want. It might get uncomfortable for others when I talk to the people on the ship, though. So you might want to wander around a little bit and look busy while I talk to our companions."

"Dee-deet!"

"Good T3." I patted him as if he were a dog.

Canderous turned out to be in the Main Hold, sitting on one of the benches circulating the round map table in the middle of the room. His eyes were closed. It looked like he was sleeping.

"On second thought," I whispered to T3, "We should check the Cargo Hold first."

Mid-travel to the Cargo Hold I realized everyone probably needed a nice good nap before I went and disturbed their personal life.

"Hm." I looked down at T3. "Change of plans. Sleep first. Interrogations later."


	13. Dantooine Adventures

I knew immediately that I had overslept far too long. The cheap-feeling bed that sank right down to the durasteel frame had left me feeling stiff and sore. I made a point to put in my datapad that I needed to remedy the cheap feel later.

I sat up and groaned at the aches in my bones as if I were nearly 90 instead of nearly 19. I looked around. Mission was snoring softly to my right on the bed next to me. The bed on the left was empty, so I assumed that either Revan had gotten up early or she fell asleep in the cockpit.

I got up and checked around the Hawk. It was completely empty of people, save for me and Mission. I found T3 stirring about, checking to make sure everything in the ship was functional. When his photoreceptors landed on my figure, he instantly rolled to my side.

I rubbed the still-tired crusty feeling from my eyes. "What planet are we on now?" I asked, secretly hoping that we were anywhere but Dantooine. I honestly wasn't in the mood for the whole Sandral/Matale drama business this morning.

"Bee-deet-deet."

"Great." There went my hopes to avoid _that_ commotion. "Where is everyone?"

The light in his cyclops eye flickered. I wondered if he needed maintenance. "Dee-dee deet brreeep! Ba-deet-dee-deet!"

I raised an eyebrow slowly. "...Right. And when you say Canderous went to go find a shop that has 'metal object from which red light protrudes', you actually mean blasters. You should replace that in your vocabulary."

"Deet."

I started walking back to what was now the main quarters for females, hoping to put on my shoes and go explore. "They really should start the habit of leaving notes."

...

I squinted harshly as I walked outside into the bright Dantooine air. I never even thought about how dim the light in the Ebon Hawk was compared to the rest of the world. It was like walking out of a cave into the blistering sun.

I heard T3 close the ramp behind me and took it as my cue that it was safe to continue walking. The first place I went was the obvious store right next to the landing pad.

Maybe it was just me, but this place felt a lot smaller than it looked in the game.

I walked into the tiny shop and, unsurprisingly, found Canderous checking out what looked like a used scope that could probably fit his rifle. Like he needed another one.

"So you decided spending all your money on the used wares of Dantooine would be an ideal way to spend the first day here?" I asked as I walked up.

He glanced at me for a nano second before returning to his scrutinization. "This is a 32. career-engine tech scope, kid. You can never be too prepared."

I looked at his newfound treasure with disdain. The only thing that was prepared for was the garbage.

I walked over to the first white container I saw and started rummaging through it. It felt more like I was at a garage sale than at an actual shop.

"I'll take it. How much?" I heard Canderous ask.

The Green Twi'lek running the place eagerly stepped forward. "For that? A bargain. 3,000 credits."

He scowled at him as if he were insane. "3,000 credits? That's a rip-off."

The Twi'lek, in a thick Twileki accent, urged on. "No, no, sir. That is a very good deal. Good bargain. 3,000 credits."

Canderous scoffed. "You'll get 3,000 credits for this the day Lannik's fly. 900."

You could see the stress begin to creep into the man's face. "No, no, sir. At least 2,000."

Canderous shoved a hardy finger at the guy's chest. "Look, there's no way anyone will buy your junk if you sell it too high. Now, we can do this the hard way, or the easy way."

The green man thought long and hard about Canderous' words. Finally, he was able to say, "1,100 and I'm losing money."

Canderous nearly growled at the guy. "Then take 1,101, and you'll have made yourself a fine profit." He threw the credits at the green man's desk, stomping off with his trophy.

My eyebrows were raised. Who knew he had that temper? Though, it's probably less of a temper than a lack of patience.

I returned to my rummaging. There were all kinds of knick knacks. Spinning wheels, bobby pins, something that looked like green mush in a container... What I was really looking for was clothes. I couldn't stand these Tarisian rags any longer. They felt like a potato sack.

I searched high and low in that box, to no avail. I tried the one next to it. At the very bottom there was a black cloth that felt very soft - but old, too, as if it had gotten stiff from sitting in an attic for too long. I stood up and let it unfold to the floor. Dust flew from all corners of the old coal-colored cloth. I sneezed.

"Ah! Yes. That right there... That's a very ancient Jedi robe! Only the masters of the Order wore it!" The green man said somewhere from behind me.

I took my eyes off my treasure and looked at him as if he were stupid (which I was slowly being convinced he was. Or at least very desperate). "I was never one for the Jedi."

He threw his arms in the air. "Did I say Order? I meant that it was worn by Ajunta Pall!"

I shook my head at his lame attempt to make it worth something. I shook it as if I were to lay down a sheet in an attempt to get some of the dust out. Even with my efforts, it still looked more grey than black. But it was amazing. It was an old Jedi robe. Blackish and a little tattered, - I could see some places where I would have to sew - but I was instantly in love.

"I want it." I told him.

"10,000 credits. A very very good deal!"

I spun on him. "You're kidding. Right."

He shook his head vehemently. "Not at all! It's not every day that you come upon the very robes of Ajunta Pall!"

I groaned in exasperation. "Let's get this clear. I will pay you exactly 300 credits for this at the most; especially considering you probably got it for free. I will pay no more. I have met Ajunta Pall, alright? And he doesn't wear these type of clothes. He's more into the skin-sticking type."

He looked at me very oddly. I grabbed the right amount of money from my bag I had conveniently remembered to bring and pushed it into his chest. Apparently, he was too confused and stunned to say anything.

"_And they call _me_ a liar..._" I heard him mumble in Twileki.

...

I stood on my tip-toes to try to get the full effect in the tiny mirror of the refresher. "It'll take some getting used to, but it's much comfier than those potato sacks I was stuck in for three weeks."

T3 beeped in approval.

I turned around. "So. I never thought about it, but I suppose you don't really have a fashion sense. Do you."

If he could tilt his head to one side, I'm sure he would have. "Bree deet?"

"You know, a sense of style when it comes to clothes."

"Deet...Dee deet bree."

"Right. Droid's don't wear clothes," I shrugged. "But still. You could admire or disdain the clothes of humans."

"Deet."

I turned back to the mirror and tried to fix the robe on my shoulders just right. "I'm sure when I start walking this thing will lean to the side uncomfortably. There's a tiny tear on the left that's going to totally set off the equilibrium."

"Bee deet dee dee?"

"Because I don't have a sewing kit. Otherwise I would fix it right up."

I turned around and walked past T3 to the hallway that led to the cockpit. Like any genius would, the toilet had been conveniently placed near the communications room and the cockpit so that any pilot with a needy bladder could escape easily to solace. It took me an entire hour to find it, as sad as that sounds. I knew there had to have been a bathroom _somewhere_ on the ship, but there hadn't been any in the game. So I had to search every nook and cranny. After walking around for about the fifth time, I realized that maybe some doors might look more hidden; like the smuggler's cache, for instance. It was with this realization that I found the near-invisible door leading to the refresher.

And let me tell you: I hadn't actually realized how long I had gone without going to the bathroom until I actually _found_ the bathroom.

"So no one ever told me. Where did Revan and Bastila and Carth run off to?" I asked as I casually started heading to the cargo hold.

"Bee-deet bree."

"Oh. Well, at least I know I'm not the_ only_ one to be constantly left uninformed."

As I walked into the cargo hold, Canderous hunched over his blaster like no tomorrow, I did a wide flourish with my cloak. He looked up from his work. "Isn't it marvelous? I like it."

He raised an eyebrow very slightly. "It's marvelous. For someone snorting Juma."

I rolled my eyes. "Please, ruug'la jag. Obviously you can't snort Juma. You drink it."

He sniffed indignantly. "I'm not an old man, adiik." He frowned, "At least not that old."

I shrugged. "And I'm not a tiny child."

He huffed something like a scoffing laugh and shook his head. "Only to yourself."

With this comment I suddenly realized how much bigger he was than me. He must have stood at least 6.4 feet, and that's not even including all the muscle he had to make him look bigger.

I huffed. "Pfft. Well. Well. I mean. Pfft. Well. You're just... You're just on steroids or something. So there."

By the look on his face, he had not a clue as to what I was pertaining. I sighed. "So," I began as I pulled up a plasteel cylinder to sit on. "What are you doing?"

He didn't pay me any attention other than his response. "I'm customizing the scope lens to my blaster rifle. This baby will be able to see a Dewback from a hundred sand dunes away."

I frowned at him, one fist holding up my head by the cheek. "Why would you need to spy on Dewbacks, anyway?" He rolled his eyes at my pretended ignorance. I gave him a worried stare. "You're not some creepy animal stalker, are you? You like the humanoid type, right?"

He gave me a look that clearly said 'shut up or get out'.

I shrugged as sheepishly as I could without looking too guilty for actually ruining his blaster quiet time. "So... Do you have any clue where the trio of heroes went?"

He seemed to have tuned me out, but eventually, my words must have processed, because about 45 seconds later he replied with a grunt and a half shrug. "Don't know. Something to do with Jedi business. Not for my ears."

I hummed in reply. A couple seconds later it occurred to me that I had been forgetting someone the entire time I had been up. "Wait. Where's Zaalbar?"

He half-shrugged again. "Probably taking a dump somewhere. I don't know. Doing Wookiee things."

I could tell he really just wanted me to leave so he could get back to work. I sighed. "Well. I can see you need your alone time. I'll just be back whenever you're done."

He grunted again for reply.

As I was about to open the ramp, it opened for me. As it lowered, I could see the sun had come to its full peak. It was probably around 3 by now. When it was down all the way, Zaalbar stepped onto the ship. "Where have you been?" I asked.

He mumbled something akin to a growl that I didn't catch.

"You didn't even take Mission! Whatever you did must have been important." I tried again, following him to the main room.

_"My business is my own. I don't ask you about your whereabouts."_

I lifted my chin. "Well, Zaalbar, you don't have to. I can tell you that my day has not been very interesting at all, except for this amazing robe that I got. Isn't it cool?" I modeled for him to get the full effect.

He made a sound that distinctly reminded me of an, "Eh."

"If that doesn't interest you, I'm sure you'll be happy to know I'm working on T3's fashion sense. Isn't that right, T3?"

"Dee... Dee deet." He sounded unsure.

He seemed to groan. "_Excuse me._" And he was off to the facilities. I could tell he just wanted to get away from me. I suspected he was in a sour mood, though I hadn't the foggiest clue as to why.

I walked back into the girls dormitory, hoping to maybe set up some plans for a new bed mattress. Mission was awake, though she hadn't gotten out of bed. She looked like she was staring a hole into the top of her bed ceiling.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

She jumped a little at my voice, obviously unprepared for human contact to have entered the room.

"Oh. Yeah. I was just thinking again."

"Uh oh. _That's_ what I smelled all the way from the cockpit."

I thought I saw her lips twitch upward a little. "I was thinking about what you said. About duty."

"Yeah?"

"Mhm. I was just thinking... I mean, I always thought the Republic were the good guys and the Sith were the bad guys. But.." Her brows creased, "Now I'm not so sure. What you said about duty makes sense, you know? I mean, I know the Republic and the Jedi _have_ to be better than the Sith. I saw how the Sith acted on Taris, even before the bombing. In a way the Jedi and the Republic _have_ to be the good guys. But.." She sat up and shook her head, as if to clear it. "I dunno. I guess I'm thinking too much on it."

I sat down on the corner of my bed and turned towards her. "I don't think that pondering those things is bad. But sometimes it can get stressful. The world is a strange place."

Her eyebrows creased. "You mean.. The galaxy."

I slapped my forehead. I kept forgetting to use proper words. "Right. The galaxy. Tons of worlds, right? Eheh..."

I sat more upright, suddenly very interested in changing the subject. "So. Zaalbar went somewhere today. He seems grumpy now that he's back."

She seemed to think on this, listing out in her head all the reasons why he could be grumpy. Her first conclusion was one so obvious I hadn't even thought of it. "Well... He might not have gotten enough to eat today. He's always grumpy when he doesn't get enough to eat."

My mouth formed an 'o'. I would have to check the food supply bin to see if we even had any food. The mention of it made my stomach grumble.

"He might be grumpy if there's too much enclosed space. For the most part he's used to city dwelling, but sometimes he just needs to see the sky. I figure it must be because he was raised in a place with lots of trees. But I think it's probably because flying makes him anxious. I mean, we've never flown before, but I could tell yesterday when we did, you know?"

I hmm'd at her words, marveling at the things I didn't know before. "Interesting. I wonder if all Wookiee's are like that."

She shrugged.

I held my belly. "Talking about food has made me really hungry. I think I'm going to go check the food bin."

She nodded eagerly. "I'll come with you. I'm getting pretty skimpy, myself."

...

"Either Zaalbar ate it all, or the previous owners of the ship weren't actually planning to use this vessel for very long." I observed, looking at the completely empty canister.

"I guess it's time to go shopping. But I don't know where to get anything. And..." She looked kind of sheepish, "I don't have any credits."

I waved a dismissive hand. "Don't even worry about that. I was of course going to buy everything. But you've got me on the shopping part. I've not a clue." Suddenly a lightbulb flickered on over my head. "Wait! Maybe I do. There are a lot of farmers here, right? I bet the economy is getting tight around here with all the robberies the Mandalorians have been inflicting. I'm sure they'd trade food for credits no problem."

Her eyebrows raised. "Mandalorians have been robbing people?"

"More than that. They even kill them if they don't submit."

Her mouth opened slightly. "That's horrible! Aren't the Jedi doing something about it?"

I shook my head. "Nope. Why would they waste their precious time on civilians?"

She shook her head in return. "I can't believe it."

I half-shrugged. "That's not the actual reason. The actual reason is that the Jedi don't interfere with violence. So they stay out of the Mandalorian affairs because they don't want to hurt their precious code of conduct."

She just kept shaking her head with every word. "The more I hear, the more I think the Jedi and the Sith are more alike than they let on."

I shook my head from side to side, initiating a motion that made it look like I didn't agree or disagree, but maybe both. "Eh. They are in a lot of ways. They also aren't in a lot of ways. Neither are necessarily attractive."

She just shook her head again.

"But besides that, we've got a problem with the conclusion."

"What?" She asked.

"The Jedi don't let anyone outside unless they have explicit permission."

Her eyebrows drew together. "You need permission to go outside?"

"Well, outside the landing port barriers."

She huffed. "I'd like to see any security system try to lock _me_ out."

...

"But if you let us out, I'm sure I could bake you a delicious cookie with the ingredients I buy." I tried to persuade the hefty Gran in front of me, not sure which of the three eyes of his to focus on.

The man said nothing, and instead kept a steady front with his arms crossed.

Apparently, ignoring the droid at the entrance and trying to slice the lock wasn't considered civil or polite here, because the droid had contacted some body guard to come prevent us from leaving. I doubt he would hurt us, since we _were_ in a Jedi enclave, but he did look big enough to easily pick us up and put us somewhere else. And I'm sure if we made a run for it, someone in authority would be on our necks the next time we tried to come back in.

"Come on. Everyone likes cookies."

No response. Not even a twitch.

"Look, we're hungry. We just need to go buy some food from a farmer, okay?" Mission interjected.

His voice came out in a garbly language. "_There is a gift store in the landing port lobby. If you have need, go see the man running the shop._"

I groaned. "But he's a horrible owner. He'd probably put dung in our bread or something." I spread out my robes so he could see them better. "He tried to convince me these were the robes of Ajunta Pall. And then he demanded 10,000 credits for it!"

He didn't look impressed with my story. I sighed. "It doesn't look like we're going to get anywhere with him, Mission. We'll just have to buckle up and see if the slime's shop actually _does_ have anything to eat."

...

"What is this?" I wondered to myself aloud.

"It looks like a door." Mission stated the obvious.

We had taken a wrong turn and ended up in the apartment hallway. About halfway through I started to realize we were probably going the wrong way, but I also had my curious streak shine through and wanted to see what was up here and if it looked the same as it did in the computer.

As it turns out, it didn't look the same. Well, not exactly. There were of course the three standard apartments as before, but there was now also another apartment at the very end of the hall. You could see the door as soon as you walked in the hallway.

"What do you think is inside it?"

She looked at me oddly. "Probably an apartment, just like all the others?"

I shook my head. "Well, obviously, but I meant what is different about this one from all the others."

She compared the doors then turned to me and shrugged. "They look the same."

I nodded, a hand stroking my non-existent beard. "Yes. But they are very different. This one has promise," I turned to her with a mischievous grin, "Let's find out what kind."

I clicked the button that should have opened the door, but to no avail. You could tell it wasn't locked, but it simply didn't open. A couple seconds later a voice came from the other side. "Who is it?" The voice didn't sound particularly unfriendly, but a bit on the edge of cautious and paranoid.

I looked at Mission for the answer. She shrugged.

"Uhh..." I said, "It's, um... Me and my friend."

There was some shuffling from the other side. "What is your purpose, me and my friend?"

I started to snicker. I don't know why, but the whole thing just seemed so funny. Mission elbowed me, but she had a smile of her own. I pulled myself together enough to say, "Uh... We're hungry. And I wouldn't mind a drink either."

The voice sounded relieved and a bit perplexed. "Oh. Why didn't you just say so in the first place?"

The doors opened and my jaw dropped. The man on the other side, a Zabrak dressed in black trousers, a white shirt, and black suspenders, ushered us both in and promptly closed the door. The apartment room had been made into a cozy little cantina. Dim-lit lights lined a small bar counter with one patron and a tired-looking bartender. Colorful spotlights highlighted a small empty stage where a dancer should probably be. Anomalous round tables scattered the remaining areas. It was small, and full of all the things a cantina should have, but it wasn't too full that it looked cluttered. It was like a cramped kind of spacious.

"Wow," I breathed.

"You like? We're hiring a dancer, if either of you fine specimens are interested."

I looked at him oddly. How convenient. From Mission's look, she seemed to be thinking the same thing, only less suspicious and more encouraging.

"Well, have you found the right girl. My friend here can dance up a storm." Mission clucked.

I shied away from the man's excited gaze. "I can dance well enough."

He clapped his hands together and then led me to the tiny stage by the small of my back. "Excellent. Show me what you've got."

I sighed and hopped onto the stage, secretly pleased that this seemed to be the empty hour. I did a few of the routines we did back on Taris, feeling my mind go into a blank state.

I was interrupted from my nothingness by the man's clapping. "Excellent. Would you be willing to work from 11 to 5? 15 creds an hour. Can't get better than that on Dantooine."

I did a combination of a sigh and a shrug. "Sure, why not? I'd be happy to work for you."

Although my voice was clearly void of any happiness, he seemed placated by the fact that he had found a worker. "When can you start?" He asked.

I gave him a face. "Tomorrow would be best. I have... Uh... Hyperspace lag."

He didn't seem to have a clue what that was, but nodded. "Fair enough. I'll expect to see you bright and early in the AM!" And the man was gone, off into some back room which was probably just a bathroom or a closet.

Me and Mission migrated to the bar. "Got any food?" I asked. The bartender, a middle-aged man that looked like he had experienced too much hardship within a short amount of time, nodded and handed us a small menu.

"Ooh, fancy." I said, pointing overexaggeratedly at the cursive lines on the tiny list.

"What do you think a roba meat bubble-and-squirt is?" Mission asked.

"Not a clue. Do you know what a Keela is?"

She scrunched her face. "I've never heard of this stuff before."

I called the bartender over and tried to get him to explain to us what the thing's listed were. When asked, he shrugged. I sighed and ordered a Keela, and Mission ordered a Roba meat bubble-and-squirt.

When the food got to us, Mission's looked like a tiny dry steak with a mixture of green vegetable glop on the side. Mine looked like tiny poops swimming in gravy.

Despite the appearance, the food smelled good. So, too hungry to complain, we both dived in. The fece-looking food actually tasted pretty good. It reminded me of a soft steak dipped in white gravy. I asked if I could try Mission's food, and we both tried each other's dishes. Her steak was as dry as it looked, but the vegetable slop tasted like seasoned mashed potatoes with bits of bacon inside. In all, not a bad combination.

After we ate, we stayed sitting in our chairs, bellies too full to feel like moving and day too boring to return to the ship. I took this as an opportune time to bond with Mission. I ordered a couple drinks and got comfy.

"So, Mission. I never asked. Where's your parents?" If I had actually not known where her parents were, I would have realized this would be a rude question. I mean, if her parents were alive and lived on Taris with her, obviously they would be dead by now anyway and she'd be a bigger wreck than ever.

She didn't seem offended by the question. Just... tired, maybe. "Dunno. Dead, I guess. I never knew them. My brother raised me."

I raised my eyebrows. "Brother? I never knew you had one of those." My tone may have sounded a bit too innocent, but I don't think she noticed.

"Yeah... Griff. He wasn't always the sharpest tool in the smuggler's kit, what with all his get-rich-quick schemes, but he kept us alive," Suddenly her eyes seemed to hold reverence in them. "He taught me some pretty handy skills. He showed me how to slice into a computer's security system; how to get inside a locked building without the entrance codes, and how to spot a wealthy mark for a quick shell game."

My eyebrows creased. "So then... If he raised you and taught you your street smarts, where is he now?"

Anger rose in her expression. "Lena. I don't even want to talk about her. Filthy Cantina rat! She batted her long eyelashes at him and he was gone. He promised he would come back. I really miss him."

"Well... Kind of hard to come back when there's no planet to return to."

It seemed this hadn't occurred to her. A fresh wave of panic and pain allotted her features as she looked at me. "I hadn't even thought of that! What if he had enough money to come back to Taris but heard it was destroyed? What if... What if I never see my brother again?"

I realized I had probably said the wrong thing. "Mission, I promise you will see him again." I looked at her solemnly, "I didn't realize you had connections outside. And I have never seen you so distressed. I don't want to see you this way. I will stop at nothing until we find him, alright?"

I had meant every word, but I think I sounded too nonchalant to really make a dramatic impact.

She nodded her head, a little of the stress leaving her face. "I... I believe you. Somehow I just know that you aren't lying about things like this. Like you know he's okay, even if I don't."

Ha. No kidding.

"Well, Mission, I want you to know that I will always only do things I believe are in your best interests. And I am not lying to you about your brother. You'll see him. Promise."

She nodded, playing with her drink by swirling it in small circles.

Briefly I wondered if she might actually find her brother as a corpse instead of like in the game. There were already many things that were different, so who was to say?

"Wanna head back to the ship? Rev and the others should be there by now."

Mission agreed and we headed on our way.

...

"You're kidding. They're still not back yet?"

It was half past sundown and Canderous had just given me the news that none of the rest of our party had returned yet.

"Do you see them anywhere, adiik?" He asked sarcastically.

I put my hands on my hips. "Well, I just got here. I don't exactly do room inspection first thing."

He half shrugged. In front of him on the workbench was an elaborate display of parts for his rifle. I assume he had taken it apart, whether to clean it or upgrade it, who knew.

"So what are you doing?"

"I'm modifying the scope panel to my rifle's magnetic containment plane. I'd never trade my blaster for any other in the world, but every time I change scopes I have to take the damn thing apart." He shook his head, grumbling incoherently to himself.

I raised an eyebrow. "Right. I understood none of that," I leaned against the wall. "But I have some interesting news. Me and Mission found a Cantina."

He paused in his work to look at me, brows furrowed in an expression of disbelief. "On a Jedi planet? How did you manage that?"

I shrugged. "Not me. Some Zabrak. It's a tiny one, but it's got good enough food and strong enough drink."

He laughed heartily. "Strong enough drink? I could probably wipe the whole place clean of liquor and I still wouldn't be buzzed."

I raised my eyebrows. "I believe you."

He chuckled to himself, returning to his work. I stayed and watched him for about 5 minutes before I got bored and left.

I found Zaalbar in the Main Hold, fiddling with some piece of wood. "Yo, Z! Wazzap!"

He spared me a dull glance, clearly unamused.

I grinned anyway and sat on the chair opposite the end he was on. "So how are you?"

He mumbled something akin to a growl.

"Well, I'm fantastic. We found a Cantina."

He didn't seem interested.

I sat next to him for many minutes, not saying anything.

There was something that had been egging me since the first week on Taris, but I never had the guts to ask. It took a few minutes of awkward silence next to Zaalbar before I got the urge to ask.

I cleared my throat. "So... Uh... Zaalbar. Do you miss anything about your homeworld?"

He looked up at me, golden-speckled eyes blazing beneath his fur. _"I never ask you anything about your home planet. Why do you ask about mine? I would prefer if Kashyyyk's pleasures remain unknown to outsiders."_

I sunk into my chair a little, the sheer pressure of his gaze making me feel like a tiny child instead of a full grown woman. "Well..." I said, "You _could_ ask about my homeworld if you wanted. There are thing's I miss about home."

I stared at the ceiling, not really seeing the durasteel panels, but seeing past them to a place far away. "I miss the smell of fresh rain. I miss how good the storms felt in the summer, and how bright the roses looked when they were in fulll bloom. I miss the taste of honeysuckle from my grandmother's back yard."

He hadn't continued his work, and he was looking at me, so I took that as a sign to continue.

"I loved climbing the trees there. The feel of soft leaves beneath my feet. I even miss the winter, which is weird, because I hate the cold. Making snowmen with my little sister and coming inside to warm our numb fingers. I miss the feeling of fall. How the leaves look when they're decked in colors tangerines and the air is filled with wonder and mystery." As I spoke, I could smell pumpkin candles being lit; I could see the vibrant colors of life coming to reality within my memories.

I basked in the momentary realness of the life I no longer knew.

_Yes._ I thought to myself, _It was real. Very real. I must never forget that._

Zaalbar broke into my reverie's. _"No known planet has had more than two climates in more than a milennia. You speak of many."_

I pressed my lips together. "Oh. Yes. Um... It... We had different sectors with controlled climates to create an illusion of natural seasons."

He seemed to accept the excuse.

Silence pursued for a few more minutes, and just as I was about to leave, he spoke.

_"I miss the smell of the trees,"_ He finally said. _"I miss their size. Trees on any other planets are too small to be more than twigs."_ He seemed to be huffy over that fact.

I nodded. "Yes, many trees are too thin. I agree. My planet has trees that are small and thin, but not because of the climate. They are like that because the people on my world destroyed all the father trees."

Anger flashed in his eyes at my words, but he didn't say anything.

Just then the ramp opened and Revan, Carth, and Bastila all walked in. Revan and Carth were carrying full burlap sacks.

I instantly got up and followed Revan, who was followed by Carth, who were both heading in the direction of the Cargo Hold.

"What did you bring me?" I asked.

Revan rolled her eyes. "Down, dog. I brought food. I noticed before I left this morning that whoever previously flew this ship clearly didn't have edible substance in mind."

I made an overexaggerated moan of happiness. "Praise Rev! The giver of food! The savior of people in the Ebon Hawk!"

She shook her head, but I could see the corner of her mouth curved up.

"So what's the word? Where have you guys been all day?" I asked.

She set down her burlap sacks and opened the food container. "Bastila took us early in the morning to go see the Jedi council. Said they had important business to talk to me about." She started unloading everything and putting things away. I went to help her.

"So what's the verdict?"

She sighed, annoyed - not at me this time, surprisingly. "They said a lot of gibberish, something about me being strong enough in the Force to be a Jedi, and then said I was too old. Bastila said to give them a week, that they'll come around," She shook her head. "I don't see the point in this. I don't feel like spending another week with these geezers, much less spending who knows how long trying to train with them so I can become a mindless drone."

I shrugged. "Then don't."

She paused her work and looked at me. "What?"

I continued putting things into the container. "Don't become a mindless drone. Just because you go to a Jedi academy doesn't mean you believe in their mumbo jumbo. Just because you like the color red doesn't mean you like fire lillies."

Her face scrunched up into that kinrath pup look she was so good at making. "So you're telling me to take the training but not the mindless obedience."

I tilted my head to the side, thinking. "Not exactly. I'm saying take what you feel is right and leave what you think is wrong. Go through the tests to get whatever you need to get done over with, then leave with the knowledge you take as true.

It's like using different abilities in the Force. Just because you lean more towards being a good person than a bad person doesn't mean you shouldn't be able to let lightning fly from your fingertips. Lightning is beautiful and powerful, but certainly not evil. It's not about the power. It's about the wielder," I rolled my eyes. "But of course the council will tell you differently. And so will the Sith. Neither are necessarily attractive."

She hummed her response and continued putting the last items into the container. It was nearly full. Five burlap sacks lay empty at our knees.

"I'm sure I could go through with it and do things my way," She said once we were done. "But the idea of doing it at all is just... unnerving. I don't know how to explain it. Like some kind of annoyance in the back of my mind. As if something in my subconscious is telling me these people are just... wrong, somehow."

Yeah. I'm sure if your mind realized they brainwashed you and turned you into a republic soldier, it would be pretty pissed.

"Well. Trust your instincts." I told her lamely.

She nodded and stood up. I followed suit.

"Hey, where did you find all this food, anyway?" I asked, curious.

She looked at me as if it were obvious. "Farmers."

My mouth dropped open. "What! How? We tried to get outside and the droid guarding the door wouldn't let us!"

She raised an eyebrow. "I have no idea what you're babbling about. Bastila just took me to the adjacent landing pad - you know, the one for smaller ships. Freight mostly. Dantooine doesn't get many visitors."

I shook my head furiously. "Where?! I didn't even know there was another landing pad!"

She seemed slightly amused and slightly annoyed at my overreaction to a lack of knowledge. "It's the door on the left as soon as you walk out of the Hawk. There's a small farmers market in the corner. What, did you think everyone inside the enclave just had food fall from the sky?"

I humphed. "Well, I wouldn't have been surprised."

She snickered and shook her head at me, heading outside the Cargo hold. "Whatever, moron. I need to clarify some plans for tomorrow. Go do whatever it is you do, just as long as you're not bothering me."

_"That's_ going to be hard..." I mumbled.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

* * *

><p><strong>If you viewed this chapter as a filler, stop reading. This story is going to be mostly about adventure and character progression, which means there will be a lot of chapters spent just sitting around talking to people. <strong>


	14. The end of doubts

I woke up for the second time with an aching back, due to the horrible lack of bedding in the women's dormitories. I swore to myself I would find something more comfortable today, and to back up my resolve, put a note in my datapad to remind me.

The thought of much needed bedding made my brain go into a sudden panic mode. I had to get up before Revan decided to adventure off again.

I tugged on my shoes and immediately stumbled half-asleep through the hallways to the cockpit, not needing to change clothes as I had slept in my robes. I would have to put 'add more substance to my wardrobe' to the datapad, today, as well.

The main hold was empty, which led me to believe Zaalbar was off again on his own adventures. Who knew he moved around so much?

I walked into the cockpit, already planning what I would say to Revan, only to find the metal room heartlessly empty.

Well, almost.

"Where's Reva-lora?" Even after weeks of practice, I still wasn't quite used to stopping myself from saying her name. Others had seemed to stop noticing.

Carth peeked out from behind the pilots seat, the stray lock of hair on his forehead bobbing up and down as he moved. "She left early this morning. Said the council wanted to see her again," He frowned. "Alone."

I heaved a sigh that quickly turned into a yawn and plopped down into the seat next to him. "Ruh roh. You don't sound too happy about it. Got something against the Jedi, soldier?"

He surprised me by answering immediately, instead of giving me the whole 'I don't trust anyone' excuse speech he usually did. "Not at all! But the fact that the Jedi Council would call in a Republic soldier to talk to them about business that's so private it can't be discussed, well that, _that_ bothers me."

I waved a hand as if it were the most uninteresting news in the world. "Oh, whatever. It's not that unusual. Dantooine is it's own little cluster all on it's own. You think these small town people want more rumors spreading around? One day word gets out a Republic soldier is meeting the council in private, the next day people will think she's Darth Bandon in disguise."

"Darth who?"

"Nevermind that. The point is, if she had been called into the Coruscant council, then_ that_ would be something to bark about. But this is Dantooine. No one cares about Dantooine. Compared to other Jedi training facilities, this could be considered an accidental blot on the galaxy map." I shrugged, "The council here is great, but not Master Yoda great. So don't get all upset if they want to talk to the leader in the quest for Bastila. It doesn't seem that weird to me."

In my opinion, he looked a mixture of mildly grumpy and pouty, like a child being denied a candy bar. "I don't like being left out of the loop."

I began picking morning crust out of my eyes. "Oh, come on. If she wants you to know, she'll tell you eventually. Imagine if you were always kept in the loop, Carth. You'd know all _kinds_ of things you didn't want to know."

He crossed his arms, clearly unimpressed. "Like what?"

I got up and stretched, groaning when my back popped. "Oh, I don't know. Thing's like..." I sat back down, "I'm probably going to need some tampons soon. Have we got any?"

That just dived into a conversation about what a tampon could possibly be. Apparently in the Star Wars universe, woman toiletries were called by other names. Of course, once I explained what it was, he understood immediately, even if he did blush a little. I mean, the man had been married. Rivers of red were nothing new, even if a bit uncomfortable to talk about.

I stood up. "Well. Not that this conversation hasn't been enlightening, but now that I know the proper name for the things, I might as well go shopping. I've got to get some new clothes and a decent mattress, anyway."

His eyebrows creased. "Would you take T3 with you? He's been acting strange lately. Maybe take him to a repair shop to see if there's a problem."

I frowned. "Strange? What do you mean strange?"

He became thoughtful. "Well... This morning, he gave me a rather rude comment about my flight jacket..."

My eyebrows raised in shock. "Really? What did he say?"

He looked entirely perplexed. "He told me orange was an ugly color... And then he mentioned how my jacket made him have to repair his photoreceptors."

I bust over laughing. "I told him yesterday that he ought to start developing a sense of fashion. Who knew he'd take my advice so quickly?"

He frowned his grumpy three-year-old frown. "I like my jacket, thank you very much." He fidgeted slightly with the zipper just then, "It's a classic."

I abruptly stopped laughing and nodded very approvingly. "Yes. Classic. Very you."

He didn't seem to know if he should take the comment as a compliment or an insult.

/ / / / /

While it turned out the farmer's market in the hangar next to ours was a much better variety than the smuggler's shack the lying Twi'lek who sold me my robes had, it was not to be said that the setup was much different. Half-broken boxes of junk lay strewn in piles all around the various shops set around. Much finer junk than my first experience on Dantooine had, but still junk, mind you.

"Dee-dee deet bree?" Asked T3, who had been strolling comfortably alongside me. If a droid _could_ get comfortable or uncomfortable, anyway.

"Those?" I looked to the getup some old wrinkled-looking farmer had. "Those look like oranges. It's a fruit."

"Dwee-woo bareep!"

I laughed. "Well, ugly color or not, they taste delicious."

We continued walking. The "tiny corner" Revan had told me was full of farmers markets was not quite as tiny as I had expected, with five different shops taking up the space in between landing pads set up for freight ships.

"You know, it's a shame droids can't eat."

"Dwee?"

"Yeah! Eating is probably one of my favorite past times, so long as the food is good. Taste is an amazing thing."

T3 made a sound that distinctly sounded like a shrug would on a human.

We walked into a tent one of the farmers had up and were met with boxes full of various parts for a variety of mechanical machines that looked like useless garbage to the unknowing eye. I thought I might have recognized some of the parts from my time with Boc, but I wasn't sure, and thinking about Boc or Gadon or even Zaerdra made my heart ache in a strange stomach-churning kind of way. I immediately made a turn to ignore that side of the tent.

The other side of the shop was full of boxes of things one might expect to see if you were moving out of your house. Clothes, trinkets of things, even some small items of furniture.

I turned to the farmer who owned the shop, who was watching in a worried kind of cautious way from his seat near the doorway. "Are you moving?"

Something inside him seemed to release itself at my question, like a man who has traveled for many miles without sleep or drink. "No," He said, in a voice full of exhaustion and hopelessness. "My family... We were raided not that long ago by some Mandalorians we didn't know were camping on our land. They took everything of value and left us with only a broken moisture vaporator and a couple slices of stale bread. I have to sell everything. _Everything_. Without our moisture vaporator, we can't produce enough credits to feed ourselves. That bread won't last a day in my house."

I shook my head at his tragedy. "That's horrible. Did they totally smash your vaporator, or is it fixable?"

He shook his head, too, but sadly. "There was hardly anything left to salvage. The good parts are for sale, too," He pointed at the boxes I had seen earlier. "They're over there, if you're interested."

I sighed and turned back to the boxes of clothes. There was nothing extraordinary or special about them, just simple farmer clothes. I looked on and on to find anything I could possibly like, and halfway through searching, decided that even if I didn't find anything I would give him some money anyway. Luckily, however, I found something that _did_ catch my eye. It was a beautiful, but very simple (I was sure I could sew it myself!) pale blue off-the-shoulder dress. One glance and I knew it would look horrid on me. But it was the best-looking thing in the bin, and I wanted to help the man running the shop while still making him feel like he earned it.

I snatched the dress and walked up to him. "How much?"

There was a certain wist in his eyes, like he was sorrowful and happy all at the same time to see the piece of fabric. "Now I... I couldn't possibly put a price on that. That was my wife's wedding dress."

I suddenly felt awkward holding the thing.

"Many years she saved up for that. Happiest day of my life, when she married me. I don't deserve her."

I held up the dress and took a closer look at it. From first glance, it was a very simple design. But now that I was looking closer, I could see there was delicate waves of beading down the sides. Fitted on the right person, this dress could probably be very beautiful.

The farmer shook his head. "But I can't keep it. Can't keep anything, anymore." He sighed, "20 credits."

I looked at him like he was crazy. "20 credits? Are you kidding me?"

He seemed alarmed at my sudden change of mood. "Well, I... I s'pose..." He looked at the dress more carefully, like maybe there was something in it that he had forgotten. "I s'pose 15 credits could-"

I threw my arms in the air, the dress flailing around. "15! Are you kidding? I'll give you 800!"

The man nearly fell out of his chair. "E-e-eight hundred?!" He stammered. "That would buy us a new moisture vaporator ten times over!"

I practically threw my credits at him and marched out of the place before he could say anything else.

Walking into the next shop, I asked T3, "He was nice, don't you think?"

"Bee-dee-deet breep. Dee-deet dee!"

The curves of my mouth twitched up. "No, his vocal chords weren't malfunctioning. He was stuttering because he was shocked. It happens to tons of people."

"Dweee..."

/ / / / /

By the end of me and T3's shopping trip, I had found two good tank tops - one black, one grey, and both of them had the logo of some farming company - and a pair of decent-looking shorts. I was glad for this, because I wasn't sure if Tatooine would have a clothes shop, and I didn't think wearing my black "Ajunta Pall" Jedi robes would help keep me from the three blistering suns the sandy planet had.

I also asked all the shop owners if they had a mattress that would fit my bed on the Ebon Hawk, and I was directed to a man who sold me a thin blanket-like piece of cloth he promised would make my nights ten times more comfortable. For the price of 40 credits, I figured it couldn't hurt to try it out, even if it did seem a bit unrealistic. Who knew. Maybe there was some kind of Jedi Force Magic inside of it.

When I got back to the Ebon Hawk, the sun was just making its way behind the hills in the distance. From my spot in the luxurious landing pad, most of the scenery I might have seen if I was standing out in the fields was drowned out behind the tops of the training center. Nevertheless, I stopped to stare at the beautiful sky.

I wondered what my little sister was doing. I wondered if my grandmother was okay. I missed my cat. It seemed strange and lonely to me that I could now look up and know my family wasn't under the same sky.

The ache from the memories of a life that was gone was nothing compared to the ache in my belly. A loud roar announced the realization I hadn't eaten all day.

"Dee deet bree doo."

I snickered as me and T3 made our way into the Ebon Hawk. "Yes. We humans have internal systems that vocally alert us if we're about to malfunction. In this case, I'm hungry. My stomach is about to malfunction."

I walked into the women's dormitory and put my new items on my bed. Mission wasn't there. It occurred to me that she had been MIA all day.

_Probably out with Zaalbar or something..._ I thought, making my way to the cargo hold.

After grabbing something that looked suspiciously like a deli sandwich from the food storage, I walked into the main hold and found Revan passed out on a chair. Her head was tilted back over the head rest in an uncomfortable-looking position that made her snore very loudly. A tiny drizzle of slobber was seeping out the side of her mouth.

Looking at her in her sleep, you'd never guess she was one of the most powerful Sith Lords in the galaxy.

I chuckled a little and sat down on the seat on the other end of the bench-like chair system and ate quietly while she snored.

"It's a good thing we've got Rev here to snore like this. She'll scare away_ anything_ that tries to attack the Hawk."

T3 did not get my humor. I laughed anyway.

Right as I stuffed the last bite of sandwich into my mouth, Revan's head suddenly turned very fast to look at me. I jumped a little, completely unprepared for such a sudden motion. Then I saw that her eyes were still closed.

"Rev?" I asked, mouth full of food.

The arm closest to me twitched and she jumped a little, her head turning to the other side like it had a moment before.

I dropped the wrapper my sandwich had been in, thoughts of cleanliness long forgotten. "Rev..?" I asked again, reaching for her.

As soon as my fingertips grazed her arm, I was thrown backward violently into the wall behind me by some unseen force. The air rushed out of my chest and my stomach heaved unpleasantly. I hoped my food wouldn't come back up.

I was held there, a foot off the ground, against the wall. It felt like an elephant were sitting on my chest.

I looked down. It was an extremely odd feeling to see there was nothing holding me against the durasteel wall panels, and yet there I was, strung up against them like a rag doll.

Revan was standing now, looking directly at me, one hand held out in front of her like she was loosely holding an invisible cup. She took one slow step forward and flicked her wrist just the slightest bit. I flew upward and hit my head on the ceiling. I groaned as the feeling of my brain rattling in my head caused the world to warp. As soon as my head hit the ceiling, my body hit the floor, the invisible force holding me up now gone.

My ribs shuddered at the sudden impact, and as my head hit the floor, I accidentally bit my tongue. Blood filled my mouth.

I carefully moved my left leg to get up, and winced a little when pain shot through my ankle. Sprained, probably.

My neck suddenly felt claustrophobic, like I had a scarf on too tight. I gasped as the uncomfortable tightness turned into painful closure. I looked up at Revan, one elbow holding up my torso and the other searching my throat for the choking object that was not there.

"Rev..!" I gasped.

I wished I hadn't wasted that breath. As soon as the word left my mouth, it felt like all the air inside my body was shriveling up, closing my blood cells and shrinking my lungs.

There was no expression on her face. As my body raised to level with her, I stared into her unseeing eyes. They looked darker than I'd ever seen them before. Whereas her eyes were normally crystal blue, they were now nearly black. I realized, with the worst spine-paralyzing trickle of fear I'd ever known, that I wasn't looking into her eyes. I was looking into the eyes of the nightmare she was having; a nightmare I couldn't see or help her escape from.

With all the might I could muster, I pulled in one forceful breath of air. "Revan!" I cried hoarsely.

At her full name, she gasped and staggered back as if I'd just slapped her. I fell to the floor and landed hard on my knees.

Coughs came out before more air came in. For what felt like an hour, I sat there, coughing and gasping and hurting like I'd never known before. T3 rolled up to me and beeped sporadically. I waved his words away and patted what passed for his head as gently as I could, mostly because I was afraid any noise would startle Revan again and send her into a force rage.

I looked up, trying to settle my breathing. Revan had fallen backwards on her backside with her arms wrapped around her in a tense kind of cage.

I crawled towards her. "Rev," I breathed hoarsely.

Her eyes, crystal blue and startled, frantically searched my face. She searched, I knew, for answers. For peace. For calm in the storm in her mind. What kind of hell had awakened inside of her just now?

I rested a hand on her knee, partially to stabilize her and partially to steady myself - the world was still a bit warped. I wouldn't have been surprised if I had a concussion.

"It's okay." I rasped. "It's okay."

A strangled sound like a tiny cry of help released itself from her throat.

I crawled to her side and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, hoping the gesture was comforting and not triggering of more bad memories.

I had no idea what had just happened. A second ago, I was eating a sandwich. Now I had bruised knees, a sprained ankle, an abused throat, and possibly lung damage. Not to mention my tongue was still bleeding. And my ribs were probably bruised, as well.

In retrospect, I realize I probably should have ran at the first chance. If she had gone into some kind of mental stupor and gone all Darth Revan again, I doubt I could have survived it.

But looking at her, crumpled on the ground with an expression on her face that clearly stated she had no idea what she had just done, how could I leave her? She, who had no control over her own mind. She, who had been taken away from a life she chose - albeit the life she chose may not have been the best - and stripped of her memories for the greater good of the Jedi.

No. I couldn't leave her. Even if she were to kill me, how could I have left at that moment?

So instead, there I sat, with my arm around her and my wounded voice trying to whisper comforts into her ear.

Many minutes we sat on the floor, gently rocking back and forth to keep ourselves together. After some time, her arms released their tense hold on herself and her head drooped down to her chin. "What happened?" She whispered.

I had never heard her sound so vulnerable. I thought it was very out of character for her.

"Nightmares. At least from what I can tell." I answered.

She scrambled away from me and stood up. She took in a deep shuddering breath, ran her hands through her hair, and then asked, "How did I...?" She was staring at her shaking hands.

I used all my energy to heave myself up onto the chairs we had previously been sitting on.

I looked at her. I mean, really looked at her. For the first time I wasn't seeing the strong, vibrant, and mildly irritating woman known as "Alora". I was seeing the heart of the Sith Lord that no longer was; I was experiencing the broken parts of her that may never come back to form.

She deserved to know the truth. I understood that much.

I sighed deeply and held my aching ribs, as if that would help them from falling apart. "Do you want the truth, or the whole truth?"

She dropped her hands and looked at me in speculation, pondering for the first time if there really were things she didn't want to know. "I want the truth." She said, hesitating before her next statement, "All of it."

I bit my lip. Maybe I could go without full-on telling her she was Revan, destroyer of worlds. Who knew how it would change things?

I stared at her, processing my thoughts before I answered.

"Okay." I said. She tensed, waiting for me to continue. "It's why the Jedi brought you here." I said.

She slowly sat down next to me, carefully, as if the chair would break if she were too fast.

"You're Force Sensitive. It means things like this are bound to happen. The Jedi know this. They brought you here to train you so this kind of stuff wouldn't happen. But it's kind of super secret business, because you're too old for training. But I'm sure they explained at least some of this to you yesterday."

She took all this in with reverence at my words. "So that's what that was all about..." She muttered softly.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing." She deflected. "But if you're right..."

Suddenly she stood up and practically ran out of the room towards the ramp. I frantically limped after her. "Rev! Rev! Where are you going?"

She didn't answer. And as soon as the ramp was down, she was flying out of the Ebon Hawk like there was no tomorrow. I limped outside to try and follow her, but I wasn't stupid; I wasn't going to be able to chase her in my condition.

She flew past Carth and Mission, who were just outside the Ebon Hawk and looked like they were about to walk inside. They both awkwardly stumbled out of her way, Mission giving a, "Hey!" And Carth blurting out a surprised, "Alora?"

I watched as her figure retreated into the distance. I wondered if she would be alright.

Carth turned towards me. "What was that all about?"

I looked at him, my mind far off into places he could not reach. "I don't know, Carth. But I think I will soon find out."

/ / / / / /

I lay on my uncomfortable bed, my entire body screaming for me to do something about it's injured condition.

"If they had Kolto Tanks here, I'd ask for one. But I don't think they do. So stop your groaning." I told my body. It didn't listen.

My eyes wandered over to the bounty I had collected earlier from the farmer's market. In the small accumulated pile I knew there was a thin blanket-like device I had bought that was supposed to make my bed more comfortable. But it was all the way on the other side of the room. At the pain level I was in, the rations I would need for the journey across the room were far greater than what I currently possessed. I decided to stay put.

Mission walked in some short time later with a sandwich in one hand and a pazaak deck in the other. "Wanna play some Republic rules?"

I watched enviously as her uninjured body walked seamlessly across the room. I briefly wondered if I would ever be able to walk as smoothly again.

"I don't think I even have the energy to lift my hand to play." I told her.

She raised an eyebrow. "I thought all you did was go shopping today."

I made a pathetic whimpering sound and replied, "I thought so, too, Mission. I thought so, too."

She shrugged and sat down on the floor next to the things I had bought. "So what kind of stuff did you get?" She asked as she started rummaging through the pile.

I had barely opened my mouth when she squealed, "No way! You bought a nocturnal outlet converter!"

"A what now?"

She lifted up the sad-looking blanket for me to see. "These are way comfortable! And super expensive! Where did you get it?"

My mind couldn't process that the thing she was holding in her hands could possibly be expensive somewhere. "Uhh... I got it at the market. It was like 40 credits. Cheap, in my opinion. Why? What's it do?"

She stood up and walked over to me. "Get up and I'll show you!"

I sighed and groaned at the thought of having to move, but my curiosity got the better of me and I lifted myself from my uncomfortable position on the bed.

She lay down the thin blanket so it was even over the bed and asked me to lay down again. I did.

"Ugh!" I complained. "This is even more uncomfortable than before, if that's even possible."

She rolled her eyes and smiled. "That's because it's not on, whiny."

She pulled out a magically-appearing tag from the bottom of the blanket and clicked a button. Within the lapse of five seconds it went from feeling like I was laying on rocks to laying on a memory foam mattress.

My eyes widened. "Woah."

She nodded. "I know. You should let me borrow it some time, you know, if you ever decide you like sleeping on a bed that feels like durasteel."

I snickered. "How about you just borrow my bed if I'm not here?"

She smiled. "Sounds good."

I let out a breath of pain. "If you don't mind, now, I'm going to try and heal."

And for the first time since arriving on the Ebon Hawk, I had a restful sleep.

/ / / / / /

I awoke to being shook by strong arms. My body protested and I started to sit up when a hand clamped over my mouth. I started to panic, but then my eyes adjusted to the low lighting and I saw it was Revan who had been shaking me from sleep. I stared at her with questioning eyes. She held a finger to her lips for silence and then motioned for me to follow her.

I got up as quietly and I could and crept behind her out of the room and into the cargo hold. She closed the door behind us.

"You were right." She said softly, even though I was sure no one would be able to hear us.

I was still in a sleepy stupor. The alertness I had felt when in a panic at having my mouth covered had gone and I was tired once more.

"About what?" I asked.

She sat down on one of the cargo bins. I did the same.

"The Jedi. You were right. They called me here to train me." Her eyes flashed up to mine. "I didn't tell them about what happened. And they didn't ask. It's as if they had no clue. So I just walked in and told them I was ready to be trained. That I would accept any help they would give me." She stared at the hands in her lap almost sheepishly. "I think I practically begged to them for help. I'm sure they caught on."

I shrugged. "What does it matter? They are willing to help you and so you should take the help. It's clear you need it."

She gave me a half-hearted glare and looked about ready to retort something very Revan, but stopped when she glanced at my broken body. "You're right." She sighed.

"Hey," I started. "Who are you and what have you done with Rev? She's much more spirited than this."

She rolled her eyes. "The nightmares ate her."

I punched her in the arm. She seemed startled at the sudden action and stared at me in wonder. "Well, beat them back! You're much too cranky to be taking their crap."

She laughed a little. "It's not them I seem to be beating up."

My smile went a little stale. "It's okay." I really did mean it. But the horrifying pain in my throat protested otherwise. "Just try not to do it again, alright?"

She frowned into her lap. I knew why. She hadn't planned to do it the first time. How could she stop a second time?

"But here - look at me," I told her. She did. "Life happens. These things are a part of life. They happen. And if it happens again, I'd rather it be me you beat up than someone else on the ship." I stopped and thought for a second, "Well. Maybe Canderous, if he's being a butthead. Then you can totally beat him up a little bit for me."

This time she did laugh, and from the heart, like she meant it.

After awhile she stared at me. Eventually she said, "You know, you're not like I thought you'd be. When I first met you, you seemed like a stuck-up stupid brat."

I gave her a look of mild offense. "Well, gee, thanks. NOW what do you think of me, your highness?"

She thought for a moment. "You're... Kind. At least kinder than I thought you'd be."

I shrugged and smiled a bit. "And you're much more cranky than_ I_ thought you'd be."

She frowned and slapped my arm, but her eyes were teasing.

"So did the council say anything I should know about?" I asked.

She looked lost for a moment in thought, then it seemed like she had apparently found something of interest in today's memories. "They... Well, Vrook said something. I can't stop thinking about it. It left me with a strange feeling."

"Tell me." I pressed.

"He said... Well, he said, "Are you certain that Revan is truly dead? What if we were to train this one and the Dark Lord were to return?""

I would have laughed at her horrible impression of Vrook's voice, had I not an inkling as to where she was going with her thoughts.

"And I can't... I can't help but feel..."

"Like he was talking about you." I finished.

She was silent.

Perhaps there was simply no more to say, for neither did I speak.

The silence lasted for a long time. My body eventually went numb from being still for so long. I reveled in the release from pain.

"There's something bigger going on." She said softly. "I don't know what it is. But it doesn't feel right. It feels like... Like there's something I'm supposed to be doing right now, but instead I'm here. And that's stupid, because I'm just a scout for the Republic. They didn't have me on any mission, so there's nothing I'm supposed to be doing that should be so important to make me feel like this."

"Are you sure you just didn't leave the oven on back at whatever you consider home?"

She gave me a look. "Very funny. But I'm being serious."

I sighed and nodded. "I know. Let's just focus on the task at hand, though, for right now. Okay?"

She heaved a huge sigh of frustration. "Now you sound just like Carth!"

I put a hand to my chin in a thinking pose. "Huh. You're right. Maybe we're related somehow. We are both from Telos, right?"

She became stiff all of a sudden. Rigid and distant. "That reminds me." She said, the old crispy tone to her voice back. "You said you're from Earth."

I hadn't heard the cold in her voice for what seemed like so long, it almost seemed foreign. "That's right."

Her eyes narrowed. "I've been to Earth. There's nothing there but dead rock. So the question stands: Where are you really from?"

I pressed my lips together. "Hmm. And here I thought that just a second ago we were actually starting to become buddies." I sighed, "Well, Rev, I hate to disappoint you, but I really am from Earth. I wasn't lying about that part."

She searched my eyes and my face for signs of deceit. Apparently she found none. "How? If you truly aren't lying, then how?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe you had the wrong Earth or something."

She glared at me. "I _will_ get the truth out of you. Whether you know it or not."

"Somehow, Rev, I don't doubt you."


End file.
